Dreams in War Time

2014 | for tenor and piano | 15’

Amy Lowell’s “Dreams in War Time” is an evocative series of seven loosely connected images, published shortly after the end of World War I. In setting this powerful and increasingly disturbed text, I’ve chosen to take the title literally, reimagining the poem as a series of dreams and nightmares had by someone closely associated with and deeply affected by his experience with war— perhaps a soldier or a general. Each movement details a different aspect of how war, violence, and death ultimately destroy all beauty and happiness, slowly desensitizing a person to their loss.

Dreams in War Time is written for and dedicated to Malcolm Cooper, a tenor who possesses inimitable artistry, power, and finesse. I am proud to call Malcolm a colleague and dear friend.

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