from WINTER SONGS, "Exposed on the mountains of the heart," mezzo-soprano & violin

THIS IS THE poem & performance model of the 1st "Rilke movement" of my WINTER SONGS, for mezzo-soprano & violin. "Exposed on the mountains of the heart." It starts with a short intro, followed by the Rilke piece, first in German, and then in English translation. Lastly, we hear the music. DOWNLOAD pdf of performance score here: http://bit.ly/1zW7sfh All of the movements can be done as independent projects. It might be nice, like here, to perform the poem as a duo, trading or counter-sing lines, as it were, between singer and instrumentalist. As always, the poem should be done by heart. I'm very much against 'reading' poetry, just like I'm against 'reading' music. One has to make the piece one's own, a part of one's flesh and blood, and thereby transcend, we hope, the limitations of the eyes and notation. PHOTO: DEEP WINTER, January, THE #ALPS A NOTE ON performance models: I'm very aware of the limitations of models. At the same time, what I"m primarily focused on with models is obviously not so much the quality of sound--which leaves much to be desired--but rather the QUALITY OF MOVEMENT. It is in the latter sense that they may prove helpful, I think. I: Exposed on the mountains of the heart Exposed on the mountains of the heart. See, how small there, see: the last hamlet of words, and higher, and yet so small, a last homestead of feeling. Do you recognize it? Exposed on the mountains of the heart. Rocky earth under the hands. But something will flower here; out of the mute abyss flowers an unknowing herb in song. But the knowing? Ah, that you began to understand and are silent now, exposed on the mountains of the heart. Yet many an awareness still whole wanders there, many a self-confident mountain animal passes through and remains. And that great protected bird circles about the peaks of pure denial. But unprotected, here on the mountains of the heart. Rainer Maria Rilke (tr. from the German by Cliff Crego) GERMAN text is here: http://www.picture-poems.com/rilke/features/salbit.html The INTRO for WINTER SONGS is here: http://cs-music.com/voice/intro_winter-songs.html The iPad webscore is here: http://cs-music.com/voice/mountains-1.html And the pdf performance score of COMPLETE CYCLE is here [prints A3 cardstock]: http://cs-music.com/voice/pdfs/download_winter-songs.pdf