Category Archives: Literary Lyricism

The music in great literature, or great literature adapted to music.

TELL TALE OMENS

Posted on October 14, 2018 by

  What is this about? Have I decided to add cartoonist to my jack-of-the-arts-box?     No.  I am quite aware that my drawing skills are more on the feeble side. These sketches are for practical reasons, which however are … Continue reading →

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TELL TALE SIGN…

Posted on September 8, 2018 by

  Something’s coming…   Something murderous, mad, musical…   A pale blue eye…   Cellos signing;  moaning;  screaming…   His hideous heart…   It’s all returning…   But not the way it was…   It will take on a whole … Continue reading →

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WIZARDS AT THE LYRIC

Posted on July 31, 2018 by

My birthday present – my quite extravagant birthday present to myself – was tickets to the two-part all day performance of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” at the Lyric Theatre in New York.  And since today is Harry Potter’s … Continue reading →

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ELEGANT PRIMITIVISM or ELEGIAC ENERGY – On the Conclusion of the Public Vote in the Carl Orff Competition

Posted on May 1, 2018 by

The public voting phase of the Carl Orff Competition concluded yesterday.  Now I guess the public ratings of the 115 entries are being weighted and tabulated to determine five finalists.  Five more finalists will be chosen by a select jury.  … Continue reading →

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STILLES ENTSETZEN – AWESTRUCK, AWFUL REGRET – One More Week of the Carl Orff Competition’s Public Voting

Posted on April 22, 2018 by

  “Orpheus. Eurydike. Hermes” evokes the lead-up to Orpheus’ fateful turn to glance at Eurydice, the awestruck, awful regret at that moment and its terrible aftermath. “Orpheus. Eurydike. Hermes” beginnt kurz vor den fatalen Rückblick Orpheus zur Eurydike, welches stilles … Continue reading →

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ORPHEUS. EURYDIKE. HERMES

Posted on March 15, 2018 by

My Entry in the Carl Orff Competition I composed a chamber work, a song in the tradition of the “Lieder” of the salon, called “Orpheus. Eurydike. Hermes”. It describes the moment in Greek mythology when Orpheus, leading his wife Eurydice … Continue reading →

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GETTING KINKY WITH JAKE AND WAYNE

Posted on March 10, 2018 by

Ed and I originally saw “Kinky Boots” when it was still in previews.  We had treated each other with reciprocal Broadway tickets for Xmas, because we had high hopes for a Harvey Fierstein / Cyndi Lauper musical collaboration.  The performance … Continue reading →

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HAIKU NEW YORK

Posted on January 31, 2018 by

    The sky is paper Bleeding upward from the edge There are ink towers   My brother will be There to meet me at the dock Has it been five years?   Now there are seagulls Wheeling and diving … Continue reading →

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CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, SAM, and then Play It Again

Posted on November 7, 2017 by

I took a Swoon Dive this weekend.  I read André Aciman’s “Call Me By Your Name” while playing Sam Smith on endless shuffle.  It was almost irresponsibly intoxicating. Say It First – Sam Smith I first heard about the Gay … Continue reading →

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The Young Lovers’ Path to Speak Easy

Posted on June 25, 2017 by

Two Fawns in the Wood Dance into the Light   Maybe it’s just a dream.  Maybe it’s real.  Maybe it doesn’t matter either way.  For the shame and the betrayal are felt just as acutely. In the musical Speakeasy, an … Continue reading →

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SPEAKEASY – The Irony of the Young Lovers’ Duets

Posted on June 22, 2017 by

Curious Colorful Night – It’s a Dream – Momentary Bliss Three lovers’ duets that are not what they seem to the ear Ah, young lovers’ duets.  A hallmark of musicals, especially those of the 1920s and 1930s, and so of … Continue reading →

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SPEAKEASY – Advice from a (Lesbian) Caterpillar

Posted on June 19, 2017 by

Two songs from “Speakeasy” explore two sides of a closeted 1920’s lesbian For many years I hoped to write a musical about the queer subculture of Roaring Twenties New York, but didn’t find my “in” until I came upon the … Continue reading →

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The Passing of The Oriole’s Song

Posted on May 18, 2017 by

  The Last Question   I do not remember                     what my father said           when we last spoke.   But my mother remembers       … Continue reading →

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SPAMALOT infiltrates EMILY DICKINSON in A QUIET PASSION

Posted on April 24, 2017 by

Arthur: But I’m alone (Patsy: oh no you’re not!) So all alone (Patsy: I’m here you twat!) All by myself I’m all alone   I’m All Alone (from “Spamalot”) – Tim Curry and Michael McGrath What do Monty Python and … Continue reading →

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CANNIBALISM IN THE CARS – a Musical Take on Mark Twain’s Succulent Satire of Congress

Posted on April 11, 2017 by

Congress … yuck!  A distasteful subject!  Quite literally even, according to Mark Twain. Every year Congress gives us more reasons to loathe it.  This year perhaps more than ever. Thinking ill and making fun of Congress is a sport that … Continue reading →

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SONGS OF JOB’S DESPAIR – “I’m Alive” & “Divine Intervention”

Posted on February 16, 2017 by

“I’m Alive” and “Divine Intervention” are two songs that speak to humanity’s age-old despair, in the person of one man crying out against overwhelming unspeakable events outside of his fault and control. They were written for The Song of Job … Continue reading →

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