A Mirror on Which to Dwell for soprano and chamber orchestra

Year
1975
Duration
20'
Category
Voice and Ensemble

Instrumentation: 1(=picc,afl).1(=corA).1(=Ebcl,bcl).0-0.0.0.0-perc(1):vib/marimba/4bongos/SD/BD/lg susp.cym/tgl-pft-strings(1.1.1.1)
Dedication: To the artists who gave this work its first performance: Susan Davenny Wyner and Speculum Musicae
View Score
Buy Score: Associated Music Publishers
Manuscripts: Paul Sacher Stiftung
Text Author: Elizabeth Bishop (English)
Songs: See below

	Title	Instrumentation
1.	Anaphora	tutti
2.	Argument	sop, afl, bcl, 4bongos, pft, vcl, db
3.	Sandpiper	sop, ob, pft, str
4.	Insomnia	sop, picc, mar, vln, vla
5.	View of the Capitol from the Library of Congress	tutti
6.	O Breath	sop, corA, Bcl, perc(1), str

Premiere: Feb 24, 1976/ Susan Davenny Wyner (ms), Speculum Musicae, Richard Fitz (cond)/ Hunter College Playhouse, New York, NY

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A Mirror on Which to Dwell clip

When I agreed to write a cycle of songs for Speculum Musicae I decided, first, that it should be for soprano and chamber orchestra. The poems of Elizabeth Bishop impressed me because they have a clear verbal coherence as well as an imaginative use of syllabic sounds that suggest the singing voice. I was very much in sympathy with their point of view, for there is almost always a secondary layer of meaning, sometimes ironic, sometimes passionate, that gives a special ambiance, often contradictory, to what the words say. The order of the songs is entirely mine, alternating as they do between considerations about nature, love and isolation.

“A Mirror on Which to Dwell,” a line from the poem “Insomnia,” is the title I chose partly because it seemed to characterize the general world of the poems, partly because I wanted the music to be a mirror of the words and partly because Speculum Musicae, the organization which commissioned the work in honor of the U.S. Bicentennial. Its first performance was by Susan Davenny Wyner and Speculum Musicae, Richard Fitz conducting, in New York City on February 24, 1976. The work is dedicated to the artists that gave its first performance.

– Elliott Carter

Recordings (5)

Elliott Carter: Oboe Concerto; Espirit Rude/Esprit Doux; A Mirror on Which to Dwell; Penthode
Apex 85738 92272 (2001)
Heinz Holliger, oboe | Ensemble Intercontemporain, Pierre Boulez, conductor | Sophie Cherrier, flute | André Trouttet, clarinet | Phyllis Bryn-Julson, soprano
Boulez: Schoenberg, Berio, Carter, Kurtág, Xenakis
Erato 4509-98496-2 (1995)
Heinz Holliger, oboe | Ensemble Intercontemporain, Pierre Boulez, conductor | Sophie Cherrier | André Trouttet, clarinet | Phyllis Bryn-Julson
Speculum Musicae: Elliott Carter: The Vocal Works (1975-1981)
Bridge Records BCD 9014 (1993)
Christine Schadeberg, soprano | Patrick Mason, baritone | Speculum Musicae | Jan Opalach, bass-baritone | Jon Garrison, tenor | Patrick Mason, baritone | Speculum Musicae (+8)
Elliott Carter: Oboe Concerto; Esprit Rude/Esprit Doux; A Mirror on Which to Dwell; Penthode
Erato ECD 75553 (1990)
Heinz Holliger, oboe | Ensemble Intercontemporain, Pierre Boulez, conductor | Sophie Cherrier | André Trouttet, clarinet | Phyllis Bryn-Julson, soprano
Elliott Carter: A Symphony of Three Orchestras; A Mirror on Which to Dwell
Columbia M 35171 (1980)
New York Philharmonic, Pierre Boulez, conductor | Susan Davenny Wyner, soprano | Speculum Musicae, Richard Fitz, conductor