now and now (2023)
Soprano and Piano
Duration: c. 8’
Text by Elizabeth Anthony
Written for and premiered by Isobel Anthony at Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall on May 7, 2023
about the piece
When reading Elizabeth Anthony’s “Now and Now,” I felt a sense of lightness and gratitude within me. I particularly adore how she explores breath and flight in her poem. As I was writing this song, I sought to reinterpret the author’s beautiful, airy imagery through intimate textures and resonant, heartfelt harmony.
Movements and titles
i. sky
ii. this very grasp
Text: "Now and Now", by Elizabeth Anthony
Now and now and now
Unfurls apace from day to day.
Breathe, blink, tread.
A raven spreads An impossible breadth,
Threads the pine in sky
And higher still a metal bird whirs
To whom to where is there
Awaiting weather whether It be sun or now cloud cover
Or rays slicing the grey.
Grave affairs unfold even now
In this step, this breath.
This life is only what is in
This gasp this wobble this stride
This very grasp.
We cannot see the photons as they flow
But the light is plain as day.
Each breath is but a sip of sky.