Labyrinth of Love
for soprano and small chamber ensemble (2012)
I. In This Strange Labyrinth
II. Eros (Sapho Fragment 47)
III. Sonnets from the Portuguese, XIII
IV. If I may have it, when it’s dead
V. On the Difficulty of Loving an Invisible God
VI. Liz’s Lament
VII. Oh, come to me in dreams, my love!
VIII. Short Talk on the Sensation of Aeroplane Takeoff
Instrumentation: Flute/Piccolo, Oboe/English Horn, Clarinet in Bb/Bass Clarinet in Bb, Bassoon, Horn in F, Trumpet in C (straight metal mute, harmon mute), Bass Trombone (straight metal mute), Percussion (one player), Vibraphone, Glockenspiel, Crotales (one octave), Chimes, Castanets, Suspended Cymbal, Wind Chimes, Bongos (on stand), Triangle, Claves, Guiro, Maracas, Vibraslap, Wood Blocks (very large, large, medium), Tambourine, Kick Bass Drum, Soprano (If performed in large concert hall, amplification optional), Piano, Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Contrabass
Publisher: Michael Daugherty Music
Duration: 40 minutes
World Premiere: World premiere performance by Present Music, conducted by Kevin Stalheim, with Jennifer Goltz, soprano, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, June 15, 2012. First European performances by Rambert Dance Company, Paul Hoskins, music director, with Marguerite Donlon, choreographer, Manchester, United Kingdom, October 10, 2012
Program Note:
Labyrinth of Love (2012) for soprano and small chamber ensemble was commissioned by Present Music, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA and the Rambert Dance Company, London, United Kingdom. The world premiere performance was given by Present Music, conducted by Kevin Stalheim, with Jennifer Goltz, soprano, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on June 15, 2012. The first European performance was given by the Rambert Dance Company, Paul Hoskins, music director, with Marguerite Donlon, choreographer, in Manchester, United Kingdom, on October 10, 2012.
Labyrinth of Love is inspired by the love poetry and prose by eight women:
Sappho (612 BC–570 BC; Greek), Lady Mary Wroth (1587–1653; British), Juana Ines de la Cruz (1651–1695; Mexican), Mary Shelley (1797–1851; British), Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861; British), Emily Dickinson (1830–1886; American), Elizabeth Taylor (1932–2011; American), and Anne Carson (b. 1950; Canadian).
The texts I have selected and the musical landscapes I have created are full of bitterness, desire, longing, ecstasy, irony, tenderness, despair, hope, sadness and humor.
–Michael Daugherty
