Joe Stollery

This single-movement song cycle sets four very different texts that are each connected in that they concentrate on the idea of wind and its effects on the environment. The first poem (‘A Song to the Wind’) by the ancient Welsh poet Taliesin, is an invocation which introduces the wind, and the opening verse is used here as the prologue. The final verse also provides an epilogue after the wind has disappeared. The other three poems in between describe the beauty and power of the wind in different degrees of force in different locations. The first one (‘A Summer Wind’) describes the gentle but dominant presence of the wind in a wood, as it rustles the trees. In contrast, the second poem, simply named ‘Wind’ by Ted Hughes, is violent and dramatic, as the wind whips up a tempest against the poet’s house in the Welsh hills. The final poem (‘The Evening Wind’) created by the American Romanticist William Cullen Bryant, describes in great magnificence a fast but matured wind as it runs across the sea and to the land on the other side of the ocean, and the first two verses are set here.

In composing the piece, I have been inspired by works such as Britten’s Nocturne,Op.60. In a similar vein to that piece, the texts have been connected together to form a narrative that describes the wind as it hovers over the various locations, and piano interludes have also been composed to connect the separate songs together. In a sense, this song cycle could also be considered a tone poem, with the piano depicting the wind throughout as it blows across the different locations. In fact, the order of poems not only works well aesthetically, but also makes geographic sense. ‘A Summer Wind’ is set in a wooded glade, presumably in the Midlands where Michael Field lived. Ted Hughes’s ‘Wind’ is located at the poet’s house in the Welsh hills, and ‘The Evening Wind’ seems to describe the wind coming in from the Atlantic Ocean to the coast of New England. This overall order suggests that the eponymous wind is moving westward, predominantly over Wales, hence the title ‘A Wind over Cambria’.

The synopsis of the cycle goes as follows:

1. Prologue – ‘A Song to the Wind’ (first verse) by Taliesin – Introduction to the wind.

2. Interlude – Wind begins to pick up and starts travelling.

3. 1st Song – ‘A Summer Wind’ by Michael Field – Wind blowing gently through a wooded glade.

4. Interlude – Wind picks up further, approaches a house.

5. 2nd Song – ‘Wind’ by Ted Hughes – Wind attacks against a house, with a tempest.

6. Interlude – Wind leaves house and pushes towards the sea.

7. 3rd Song – ‘The Evening Wind’ (first two verses) by William Cullen Bryant – Wind moving with full force over the sea, approaching land on the other side of the ocean.

8. Interlude – Wind slowly dies away.

9. Epilogue and coda – ‘A Song to the Wind’ (final verse) – Final invocation to the wind, with a final ghostly reference before finishing.

Several leitmotivs have been used throughout this piece. The most important one to represent the wind has been used throughout the piece to further connect the songs together. In its basic form, it consists of a series of notes descending in thirds, as can be seen, for example, at the very start, in the vocal line.

This song-cycle was the first piece of three to be written in my final undergraduate composition portfolio, created between October 2014 and Spring 2015. It hasn't yet been performed.