A Reminiscence Sing

Notes for the original version for soprano, oboe, and string quintet:

It was an honor to have been asked to write this piece in celebration of Maestro James Freeman’s 70th birthday. After requesting some of Jim’s favorite texts, I fell immediately in love with “Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking” by Walt Whitman. Truly a marvel of poetic language, it is a coming of age of the artist, cradled by the timeless waves of the ocean; a young boy’s journey to comprehending the mysteries of life, love and death. The setting (to an excerpt from the poem) is simple, with a recurring lilting rhythm reminiscent of slowly undulating waves, a heartbeat or ticking of a clock. The lyrical melodies and arching form evolved from the elegant music inherent in the poem itself.

– Andrea Clearfield