Songs
Recently Shirley performed two songs from In a New Season, that were inspired by the poetry of Margaret Gallagher.
The program from that night said it all:
The composer of In a New Season writes:
I was motivated to write In a New Season when the poet Margaret Gallagher sent me her book by the same name. I had written and played music for the memorial service of her sister, Elizabeth Shinouda, and the book was a "thank you". I was immediately captivated by the concise imagery of the poetry. Reminiscent of the verses of Emily Dickinson, but less abstruse, Margaret's poems range from whimsical to profound, from delight at the dance of fireflies to acceptance of one's chosen life path. The book is arranged in four sections, each dedicated to a particular season. I have chosen to set three poems from this smorgasbord - Out of Sight, a jazzy reflection on the differing color perceptions of insects; Smoke and Dreams, a wandering musing on the burning of autumn leaves, characterized by ambiguous tonality; and Fledgling, a waltz-like setting of the hopes and expectations of a young bird - or anyone who fervently wishes for "time to sing my song".
