Work
Satellite of Love and Fear : a cycle of five songs and two piano interludes
by John Peterson (2017)
Score
Satellite of Love and Fear : a cycle of five songs and two piano interludes / John Peterson.
Library shelf no. 783.66547/PET 2 [Not for loan]
Work Overview
The Moon, Earth's only satellite, has always had a strong
influence on us: not only in a physical sense, in that the Moon
controls the changing ocean tides, but also in a psychological
sense, where it can have a profound effect on our collective
imaginations. When the Moon is full, the effects of moonlight can
be evocative and atmospheric, often both beautiful and eerie.
However, during a new moon, where there is no visible moon in the
sky, a darkness inhabits the night-time sky that creates an
atmosphere much more mysterious and potentially much more
foreboding. The new moon and lunar eclipses created a sense of
fear amongst the populations of earlier civilisations and, even
today, these events can still evoke not only a sense of wonder
and excitement but also strong feelings of trepidation. On the
one hand, we fear the darkness, but we are also love the effect
of the light of the Moon - it is a powerful dichotomy.
Satellite of Love and Fear is a song cycle that
examines, through five songs and two piano interludes, our
fascination with the Moon. The texts for four of the songs are
taken from diverse poets who lived in quite different parts of
the world, thus offering a variety of perspectives on our
relationship with the Moon. The final song is a setting of the
words spoken by Edgar Mitchell, the sixth person to walk on the
Moon (in 1971), as he looked back at the Earth from this
supremely unique vantage point. This song cycle, therefore, takes
us on a journey from the image of a lone person on Earth looking
up at the Moon ("Alone and Drinking Under the Moon"), to the
image of a lone person looking from the Moon back towards Earth
("From Behind the Moon").
Work Details
Year: 2017
Instrumentation: Soprano, piano.
Duration: 30 min.
Contents note: Alone and Drinking Under the Moon (ca. 6:45) -- Full Moon Rhyme (ca. 1:50) -- Interlude 1: The Waning Moon / New Moon (ca. 4:00) -- Moonlight in the Forest (ca. 4:00) -- Prayer to the Young Moon (ca. 4:10) -- Interlude 2: The Waxing Moon / Full Moon (ca. 3:45) -- From Behind the Moon (ca. 5:55).
Dedication note: Dedicated to David Miller, Wendy Dixon
Commission note: Commissioned by Wendy Dixon.
First performance: by Wendy Dixon, David Miller — 22 Mar 18. UNSW
Texts from: Li Po ('Alone and drinking under the moon') ; Judith Wright ('Full moon rhyme') ; Aaro Hellaakoski ('Moonlight in the forest').
'Prayer to the Young Moon' is a hymn of the San bushmen of Southern Africa
(from Specimens of Bushman folklore (1911)).
Subjects
- In the form/style of: Song Cycles
Performances of this work
22 Mar 18: UNSW. Featuring Wendy Dixon, David Miller.
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