NATURE IS (2023) for soprano, string quartet, and piano
Instrumentation: soprano, string quartet, and piano
Duration: ~8 minutes
Performance/Recording History:
Premiered by Lucy Shelton, soprano, Kristy Chen, violin I, Jessica Kartawidjaja, violin II, Oriana Hawley, viola, Starla Breshears, cello, and Emmanuel Dugal, piano on June 29, 2023 at the Yellow Barn Young Artists Program Concert in the Big Barn in Putney, VT.
Text:
Nature is what we see
Emily Dickinson
“Nature” is what we see—
The Hill—the Afternoon—
Squirrel—Eclipse—the Bumble bee—
Nay—Nature is Heaven—
Nature is what we hear—
The Bobolink—the Sea—
Thunder—the Cricket—
Nay—Nature is Harmony—
Nature is what we know—
Yet have no art to say—
So impotent Our Wisdom is
To her Simplicity.
Program Notes:
Understanding and coming to terms with the power and majesty of nature is a challenge that humans have grappled with for millenia. At times, the intricately beautiful sights and sounds we observe seem to function as a background for our experiences, and at others, the incredible might of the world commands our attention and impacts every part of our lives. My piece is a response to Emily Dickinson’s Nature is what we see, which poignantly considers the question of nature’s true character. Repeatedly, the speaker attempts to define nature by arguing that it is what we observe through our senses, but each time, they are confronted by its impossible abstractness. Finally, the speaker admits defeat and cedes that nature cannot and should not be defined or categorized. Nature is completely beyond our understanding; it simply is.
As with Dickinson’s poem, my piece continually redefines and rediscovers itself, struggling to reach a place of understanding and contentment. Finally, the music reaches a point of resignation, giving in to the realization that self-discovery is impossible and unproductive. It is futile to try to define and categorize nature’s overwhelming, mystical simplicity. Despite our best efforts, the only absolute truth we can find is that nature simply is.