Song Cycle Notes
\nWritten in 2015, Slabs of the Sunburnt West is a setting of Carl Sandburg’s 1922 poem of the same title. Using mystical, expansive harmonies in the piano, soaring lyricism in the voice, and folk-inspired elements, including quotations of traditional American folk songs and hymns, Slabs evokes the stunning landscape of the American Southwest vividly described in Sandburg\u2019s poetry.<\/p>\n
Driving sixteenth-note rhythms dominate \u201cThe Overland Passenger Train,\u201d as a rider headed for the Grand Canyon contemplates the fearless \u201cwagon men\u201d of bygone years who braved the beautiful yet uncompromising desert to forge a better life for
\nthemselves and those to come. As if able to cross the distance of time that separates them, the rider sees the past travelers as he looks out of his train window at night and compels the barely visible sandstone surroundings to tell the story of how they were blasted and shaped to make way for train tracks.<\/p>\n
In \u201cGod of the Canyon,\u201d a rider on a \u201cblunt and blurry jackass\u201d looks out over the ledge of the Grand Canyon. As he sees the stunning landscape of \u201cauburn, gold, and purple\u201d hues unfold before his eyes, he ponders notions of the traditional image of God that was taught to him in his youth, sitting \u201cwith long whiskers in the sky.\u201d He wonders how such an image could ever compare to the resplendent God so clearly evident in this glorious panorama. The hymn, \u201cNow thank we all our God,\u201d emerges amidst swirling gestures in the piano.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood night\u201d ends the cycle as thoughts of those gone before mingle with the passengers\u2019 dreams. The \u201ctrain music\u201d heard in the opening song now mixes with quotations of American folks songs like \u201cHome on the Range,\u201d \u201cOh, my darling Clementine,\u201d and \u201cThe Old Chisholm Trail,\u201d as the passenger ponders his connection to the wagon men.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[dflip id=\"6158\"][\/dflip]\n
<\/p>\n