Description
for voice and piano
The text is drawn from the various editions of Whitmans's 'Leaves of grass' (1855-97), and interspersed with excerpts from 'Specimen Days'. Together they form an autobiography, in which both singer and pianist are Whitman at various stages of his life.
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Programme Notes:
Whitman was begun in 1980 and went through several versions - some with piano, others with instrumental accompaniment. It was finally overhauled, rewritten and re-shaped, in 2004-5.
The text is drawn from the various editions of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass(1855-97), including manuscript variants where I found these preferable to the printed version, interspersed with excerpts from Specimen Days (harvested from diary-jottings and other memoranda in 1882). Together these