"Songs of the Earth and Sky" is based on poems taken from two volumes of classical Chinese poetry translated by the American poet Kenneth Rexroth. My choice of poems was meant to reflect the passing of the seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter.
The title is an allusion to Mahler's "Song of the Earth" (also based on ancient Chinese poetry). "The Sky" reflects the Prologue's view of mountains as well as the storm-tossed "Drunken Heaven" near the end.
"Songs..." was written under a Creative and Performing Arts Award by the University of Maryland. It was premiered by the new music group Continuum of New York City and has been performed by them in New York and elsewhere, most notably on Radio RIAS in Berlin in 1991.
Their performance can be heard on Capstone Records CPS8619
Allan Kozinn wrote in the New York Times of Feb. 28, 1998:
"In Songs of the Earth and Sky (1990) Lawrence Moss set seven ancient Chinese poems in a language that at first seemed acerbic but proved to be dramatic and nicely wedded to the texts."
Availablity
Download PDF of "Songs of the Earth and Sky"
Please contact Lawrence Moss for further availability details.
