In Sleep, in Thunder for tenor and 14 instrumentalists

Year
1981
Duration
20'
Category
Voice and Ensemble

Instrumentation: 1(=picc,afl).1(=corA).1(=bcl).1-1.1.1.0-perc(1):vib/marimba/wdbl/cowbell/guiro/bottle/maracas/sm sizzle cym/susp.cym/SD/TD/BD/tam-t-pft-strings(1.1.1.1.1)
Dedication: In memory of the poet and friend
Buy Score: Hendon Music (Boosey & Hawkes)
Manuscripts: Paul Sacher Stiftung
Text Author: Robert Lowell (English)
Songs: See below

	Title	Instrumentation
1.	Dolphin	ten, str
2.	Across the Yard: La Ignota	tutti
3.	Harriet	tutti
4.	Dies Irae	tutti
5.	Careless Night	tutti
6.	In Genesis	tutti

Premiere: Oct 26, 1982/ Neil Mackie / London Sinfonietta / Oliver Knussen/ St. John’s Smith Square, London

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In Sleep, In Thunder clip

The poetry of Robert Lowell expresses some of the most important human attitudes towards our time in beautifully moulded verse. Even before th poet suggested that I write music for his translation of Phedre, many years ago, I had been considering setting some of his work.

When the London Sinfonietta commissioned me a few years ago, I decided to write a song-cycle on his verse. In Sleep, In Thunder, a phrase from the poem “Dies Irae,” for tenor and 14 instruments, is made up of six songs: three primarily about the poet’s personal relationships, and three about his crises of religious belief. What attracted me about these texts were their rapid, controlled changes from passion to tenderness, to humour and to a sense of loss. The music reflects these very human qualities and their constant shifting qualities, and as in other recent scores, I have tried to write music of a continuous but coherent change, which to me is the most evocative kind.

– Elliott Carter

Recordings (4)

Elliott Carter: A Nonesuch Retrospective
Nonesuch 510893-2 (2009)
Paul Jacobs, piano | Jan DeGaetani, mezzo-soprano | Gilbert Kalish, piano | New York Chamber Symphony, Gerard Schwarz, conductor | Joel Krosnick, cello | The Composers Quartet (+21)
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: In Sleep, In Thunder; Triple Duo
Nonesuch 79110 (1986)
The Fires of London: Philippa Davies, flute; David Campbell, clarinet; Stephen Pruslin, piano; Gregory Knowles, percussion; Rosemary Furniss, violin; Jonathan Williams, cello (+3)
Elliott Carter: In Sleep, In Thunder; Triple Duo
Wergo WER 60124 (1985)
Martyn Hill, tenor | London Sinfonietta, Oliver Knussen, conductor | The Fires of London: Philippa Davies, flute; David Campbell, clarinet; Stephen Pruslin, piano (+3)