A Winter Come
On poems by Howard Moss

 

 

 

 

PROGRAM NOTES
A Winter Come
Notes by composer
I was introduced to the poetry of Howard Moss through the fine musical settings of his texts by Ned Rorem and William Flanagan. A Winter Come (from Moss' collection of the same name) became the first in my series of vocal cycles and was premiered in 1968 by soprano Rose Taylor and pianist Ralph Grierson. The songs are tuneful and direct with much of the music derived from manipulations of the opening motive: E-flat, D-flat, C, and B-flat.

Howard Moss (1922-1987) was for many years poetry editor of the New Yorker. His Selected Poems (Atheneum) received the 1972 National Book Award for Poetry. A Winter Come had its East Coast premiere at the Kennedy Center in 1988, and has been recorded by Jane Thorngren and Mr. Grierson on Lauridsen: Northwest Journey (RCM).
 

Reviews

Local Treasures At the Terrace

     The Washington Post, Joseph McLellan     March 21st, 1988
A previously unknown composer, Morten Lauridsen, stole the spotlight from such big names as Bach, Handel, and Haydn with a superb, spare-textured and deeply felt cycle of six songs, “A Winter Come,” with texts by Howard Moss.

mortenlauridsen.com