If I Knew
Instrumentation: mezzo-soprano, alto flute (or C flute), and piano
Year Composed: 2014
Duration: 7-8 minutes
Program Notes:
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If I Knew sets three short poems by the Greek poet Yannis Ritsos (1909-1990), translated by Scott King. The poems each use natural imagery to address something just beyond the poet’s reach—something unknowable that the poet still seeks to grasp.
The work was written for the Ritsos Project, led by Aristea Mellos, and premiered at the Megalon Performing Arts Center in Athens in 2014.
Texts below are reprinted with permission of the translator and the poet’s estate.
If I Knew sets three short poems by the Greek poet Yannis Ritsos (1909-1990), translated by Scott King. The poems each use natural imagery to address something just beyond the poet’s reach—something unknowable that the poet still seeks to grasp.
The work was written for the Ritsos Project, led by Aristea Mellos, and premiered at the Megalon Performing Arts Center in Athens in 2014.
Texts below are reprinted with permission of the translator and the poet’s estate.
Lots: 2
Blue mountain
red river
the bird on the cloud
all lies we were told
all lies we tell.
- From Lots
A Bird
[A bird in a tree]* leaves a small string of song, and later a second
—tying spring's apron around her waist—
its head turns slightly, looks attentively, remains contented
but all of a sudden dives into the blue, disappearing into its song. Where are you looking? Do you still see it? Show me.
- From Small Dedications
If I Knew
Yellow sky, black moon.
If I knew what shirt you were wearing,
if I knew where you were sitting,
the sky and my voice wouldn't be the same.
- From Small Dedications
* Originally: “In a tree, a bird”
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If I Knew
Jamie Jordan, soprano, Emi Ferguson, flute, John Liberatore, piano
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