"Echo" [Lori Laitman]

"Echo" [Lori Laitman]

First line of lyrics: Come to me in the silence of the night

Laitman, Lori; music (American, born 1955)

Rossetti, Christina Georgina; text (English, 1830-1894)

1995 [publication] [copyright]; 2015 [revised composition]

Enchanted Knickers Music, BMI

genre: song|art song (lied)|chamber opera

solo: voice

instrumentation: piano

initial sharps/flats: no sharps or flats

initial time signature: 3/4

other version 1 - solo: soprano

other version 1 - instrumentation: piano

other version 1 - initial sharps/flats: five flats

other version 2 - solo: baritone

other version 2 - instrumentation: saxophone|double bass|piano

origin: United States

female composer

English

Rossetti poem(s): "Echo"

Composition history: This is one of Laitman's earliest compositions, and she chose Rossetti's "Echo," saying it "remains one of my favourites." Laitman, also adds "I always envision it as the song I'd want my husband to sing to me after my death; assuming I die first." (Laitman). "I composed this song in 1995 for my friend and Yale classmate, baritone Robert Kennedy." ("Echo").

Tempo markings: quarter note = 80; "tempo should ebb and flow; don't be too straightforward" [attached score]; "Tempo should be flexible throughout, with a slight push for a crescendo and slight relaxation for a descrescendo" [score on MusiaNeo (Laitman "Echo")]

Performance instructions: For "soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone or bass with piano; baritone with chamber orchestra. [,...] 'Echo' and 'The Ballad Singer' can be sung as a set by baritone." The song also appears in a one-act chamber opera ("Come to Me in Dream"): "Song 15 of 'Come To Me In Dreams', orchestrated for baritone, saxophone, double bass and piano" ("Echo").

Performance history: "Premiered at Weill Recital Hall, March 13, 1996, with soprano Karen Bogan and pianist Brian Zeger." (Laitman "Echo"). In 2004 as part of a one-act chamber opera called "Come to Me in Dreams": the fifteenth of fifteen songs in this "50 minute opera created from my songs by Cleveland Opera’s David Bamberger. Premiered at The Ohio Theatre June 9-12. 2004, Cleveland, Ohio. Cast: Sanford Sylvan, Fenlon Lamb, Megan Tillmann and Sara Renea Rucker; instrumentalists Judith Ryder, Maximilian Dimoff and Paul Cohen." ("Come to Me in Dreams"). In a concert on 30 October 2013 at Jonsson Performance Hall by bass Jared Schwartz and pianist Mary Dibbern.

Recordings: "Echo." Mystery: The Songs of Lori Laitman. Albany Records, 2000. Amazon.com, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000QWRRN0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=sl1&tag=artsongscom-20&linkId=a54f37dcb610f000203febd32fea9cf0. Accessed 5 Apr. 2020.

Dedication: "for Robert Kennedy"

Notes: F sharp minor (Carman 1645)

Format 1: musical score

6 pages; performance time 3 minutes and 35 seconds

Reference: Ezust, Emily. The LiederNet Archive. http://www.lieder.net/lieder/index.html

Other data reference(s): "Come to Me in Dreams." Lori Laitman Composer, http://artsongs.com/catalog/come-to-me-in-dreams.html. Accessed 6 Apr. 2020.
"Echo." Lori Laitman Composer, artsongs.com/catalog/echo.html. Accessed 2 Mar. 2018.
Laitman, Lori. "Echo." MusicaNeo, https://www.musicaneo.com/sheetmusic/sm-350910_echo.html#350910. Accessed 6 Apr. 2020.
Carman, Judith E., et al. Art Song in the United States, 1759-2011. Fourth edition, Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2013, 1645.
Laitman, Lori. “Re: musical settings of poems by Christina Rossetti.” Received by Mary Arseneau. 29 Mar. 2018
"Vocal Concert with Jared Schwartz and Mary Dibbern." School of Arts and Humanities, University of Texas in Dallas, https://www.utdallas.edu/ah/events/detail.html?id=1220353421. Accessed 6 Apr. 2020.

Cataloguer: Jazmine Clement and Roxanne Lafleur, University of Ottawa

Musical score: Lori Laitman

Record: CRM-echo-laitman

File(s): CRM-echo-laitman.pdf

"© 1995, Lori Laitman. Enchanted Knickers Music, BMI." This score is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. The score appears on this website by kind permission of composer Lori Laitman.

The Christina Rossetti in Music project website is hosted in Canada at the University of Ottawa Library, and we aim to comply with Canadian copyright laws. If you believe we have violated Canadian copyright law, please contact us at christinarossettimusic@uottawa.ca. The Christina Rossetti in Music project is strictly not for profit and intended for research and educational purposes only.