I Should Be Glad – Carol Barnett

Composer: Carol Barnett

Text by: Sara Teasdale

Instrumentation: SSAA and vibraphone

Duration: Approx. 3'15 minutes

Date Written:  2019

Commissioned by: Jason Iannuzzi, Director of Choruses, on the occasion of the Lexington High School Chamber Singers' 10th anniversary, with generous support from FOLMADS (Friends of Lexington Music, Art and Drama Students).

Composer’s note: Choosing the text for a choral work is always a challenge; for this project, I had the pleasure of engaging in a spirited negotiation with the Lexington High School Chamber Singers and their director, Jason Iannuzzi. I opened by sending four or five poems that I thought might work; Jason countered with two by Sara Teasdale. I read more of her poetry and responded with more possibilities; the Chamber Singers proposed several others. We finally settled on Teasdale's "Compensation." It is an interesting task to construct a three-minute piece based on eight short lines of poetry. Words and phrases will need to be sung more than once. But does the repetition emphasize the right words? And does it help or hinder the understanding of the text?
– Carol Barnett

text

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