for voice, flute, and piano (2024) 13'
Program Notes:
Remembering Looking-Glass House (2024), for voice, flute, and piano, is a collection of three songs that take inspiration from Lewis Caroll's Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There. The songs are approached as a recounting of events by Alice after the window of time of Caroll's work.
I. Lost in Memory
II. Into Looking-Glass Room
III. The Jabberwocky
Text:
I. Lost in Memory
Oh, I remember! I was telling you my ideas about Looking-Glass House.
There is a room you could see through the glass that's just the same as our drawing room here only the things go the other way.
I could see all of it, all but the bit behind the fireplace. I'm sure there is something interesting there, just out of sight.
Oh, I remember! There were books and they were something like our books, only the words, the words go the wrong way.
I wonder... How would you like to live in Looking-Glass House?
II. Into Looking-Glass Room
I remember when I went through the glass and jumped into Looking-Glass room.
Curiouser and curiouser.
As I looked about, I noticed, what could be seen from the old room was quite common and uninteresting But all the rest was as differ ent as possible All so strange!
All the The pictures on the wall by the fire place, fire, they seemed to be alive. And the chess pieces were alive as well!
Curiouser and curiouser.
III. The Jabberwocky
I remember, there was a book lying on the table. It was puzzling at first, but then I could read it in in the glass!
The poem that I read seemed very pretty but it was rather hard to understand.
The Slithey toves and borogoves? The Jabberwock and Bandersnatch? Strange, so very strange!
Somehow it seemed to fill my head with ideas only I didn't exactly know what they were!
And with a vorpal sword he stood. The Jabberwock! The Jabberwock came whiffling! And the so vorpal sword went snicker snack!
It seemed somebody killed something, that was clear, at at any rate.
I remember every thing. It was all very strange, but rather wonderful. Wonderfully strange.