The Poet's Hour...

Living and working in the high hills and forests of rural New Hampshire, I fondly recall this passage from Thoreau’s Journal of 1853: 'There are, from time to time, mornings, both in the summer and winter, when especially the world seems to begins a new, beyond which memory need not go... It is the poet's hour.' (Thoreau)

As one whose work has long been framed by poetry and poetic images, the resonance of Thoreau’s deeply poignant words and their poetic impulse helped shape the mood and character of this work for violin and strings. Cast in a single continuous movement, the music is essentially lyrical and elegiac. The violin opens with two primary musical ideas that form the basis for the melodic and harmonic elements employed throughout the work: an ascending high register gesture played with harmonics and an expressive arch-like phrase played with double stops. The work is dedicated with admiration to Gerard Schwarz in gratitude for his steadfast support and friendship. Joseph Schwantner