C.75 - "This is just to say"
Composed: 23rd March 2015
After the first coursework for the 'Composition 1' module, "Mirrors", we were later given a small optional task to have a go at setting text to music. The text given was William Carlos Williams’ glorious poem, "This is just to say":
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I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
​
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast
​
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold.
​
As comical and witty as the poem was, I treated it in that exact vein and wrote a quick Wagnerian epic to accompany the text, then recorded myself singing along to it, and presented it to the class the following week alongside with a few other people that had a go. The piece achieved what I expected – it made people laugh – so that is success enough for me!
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There isn’t much else to say, except that this was perhaps my first witty orchestral piece in a quirky style that I would later write in occasionally. Perhaps, though, too often…
Reminiscence written on 19th July 2016
Last updated: 20th October 2018