No Ordinary Woman - Songs for Soprano by Gwyneth Walker

Model# ECS5728

Composer: Gwyneth Walker

Title: No Ordinary Woman

Songs for Soprano and Piano

based on the poetry of Lucille Clifton

No Ordinary Woman is a song cycle for soprano and piano. Commissioned by soprano, Denise Walker, and pianist, Estrid Eklof, for premiere at Brown University, Providence, RI in December 1997. The songs were composed at the composer's home in Vermont during the summer of 1997.

These songs might have been subtitled "Songs of Self Reflection," for they present the poet musing about her own life, and specifically her physical appearance. One imagines the poet looking in the mirror with amusement, horror, and a strong sense of her own history. Thus, the songs range from an energetic first impression ("Bones, Be Good!") to philosophical reflection ("Turning") to humor and pride in the body itself ("Homage to my Hips/Hair") to a more serious summation ("The Thirty-Eighth Year"). A strong and colorful woman emerges.

Duration: 14:00

Contents:
Bones, Be Good!
Turning
Homage to my Hips
Homage to my Hair
The Thirty-Eighth Year

ECS Publishing No. 5728