Letters for the Times
Work for Chorus and Chamber Orchestra
I. Citty Upon a Hill
II. Lately Arrived from London
III. Dreadful Cold
IV.
Mr. Shrimpton
V.Bacon's Abridgement
VI. Farewell My Loved One
VII. To Be Seen!
VIII.
Sumpteous Citty
Instrumentation: 1-1-0-1; 0-0-0-0; 3 perc; pf; soli: sop, ten, bar; mixed chorus; str 1-1-1-1-0
Texts: Secular texts selected from early New England newspapers
Duration: 15 minutes
"The text uses eight "letters" from I 7th- and 18th-century America--a diary entry,
a love letter, several public announcements........... These were set in a
pleasingly attractive, skilfully developed manner........... "
--Charles Ward, Houston Chronicle
"The texts for Letters were selected from various early American writings. The letters can be grouped into three categories: private ones--usually journal or diary entries meant to be
seen only by the persons writing them, personal ones, i. e., a letter from one individual to
another, and public ones--in most cases advertisements or open letters placed in a
newspaper and directed at a general audience. The decjsion to group these particular
letters in a musical setting was based on the belief that they all illustrate a specific or
general facet of the American character. The title was purposely left somewhat
ambiguous so as to imply their value and relevance to the present time
as well as that in which they were written......... "
--Stephen Paulus
Publisher: European American Music
Recordings: Promotional recording available
Performances: Tanglewood Music Festival, Houston Symphony, First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis Chorus and Orchestra
Commissioned jointly by the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood and the Fromm Foundation for the Tanglewood Music Festival
World Premiere: Tanglewood Music Festival, August 1980 Conductor: Gustav Meier
