songs of a lost bird, suite for flute and harp (2012)


Duration: 10'
Premiere Date: March 2012

about the performance


Grace Wang, flute and Jacqueline Pollauf, harp
Recorded Live: Cohen-Davidson Recital Hall, the Peabody Institute, Baltimore, MD (3/2012)

about the piece

This suite consists of excerpts from the memoirs of a lost bird.  Each movement is meant to evoke a feeling associated with a certain time of the bird’s day.

  1. The first, "wandering" recounts the bird’s exploration (with a nod to Schubert).
  2. The second, "morning in the park," establishes the bird’s fragile innocence.
  3. The third, "high noon," imagines the bird frustrated by obstructions (say, the bars of a cage).   
  4. The fourth, "afternoon circles in a gilded cage" describes a sense of “stuck-ness,” and the accompanying longing for freedom. 
  5. The last, "midnight in the city" recalls bright lights and adventure.

This piece is is dedicated to Grace and Jackie