"Who Has Seen the Wind?" [Cecilia Livingston]

"Who Has Seen the Wind?" [Cecilia Livingston]

First line of lyrics: Above the grasses flat as ice

Livingston, Cecilia; music (Canadian, born 1984)

McFarlane, Duncan; text

2016 [composition] [copyright]

Toronto: Canadian Music Centre / Centre de musique canadienne

genre: art song (lied)|song

solo: bass-baritone

instrumentation: piano

initial sharps/flats: no sharps or flats

initial time signature: 3/4

origin: Canada

female composer

English

Rossetti poem(s): "'Who has seen the wind?'"

Inspired by Christina Rossetti text

Notes about the text: This work was inspired by Christina Rossetti's poem "'Who has seen the wind?'" It is included in its entirety at the top of the score but none of the words are found in the song.

Composition history: In the preface, the composer states: "I began the piece by writing the limpid folksong I could hear in Rossetti’s poem and that melody echoes throughout, although it really only emerges at the very end." Rossetti answers the question in her poem, but for Livingston it was "given its most complete address" in W.O. Mitchell's 1947 Canadian novel, "Who Has Seen the Wind," which she describes as "a beautiful exploration of childhood, and of prairie life in the 1930s." She goes on to say "The huge, stark skies of Manitoba and Saskatchewan haunt me, their relentless storms, their soft warm sun. And the music here reflects these extremes, in sections that are aggressive, dramatic, spare, and very lush."

Tempo markings: quarter note = 60

Performance instructions: "Very simple; a folk-song lament"

Performance history: Premiered 13 May 2016, American Opera Projects, Brooklyn, NY, U.S.A. Jonathan Woody, bass-baritone; Kelly Horsted, piano. ("Who Has Seen The Wind?")

Format 1: musical score

9 pages; performance time approx. 7 minutes

Other data reference(s): "Who Has Seen The Wind? for bass-baritone and piano." Cecilia Livingston, Canadian Music Centre, https://collections.cmccanada.org/final/Portal/Composer-Showcase.aspx?component=AF-Query-Composer&record=61843080-f290-4e7a-9715-b77d06c98e7f. Accessed 4 Feb. 2021.

Cataloguer: Jacob Spence and Roxanne Lafleur, University of Ottawa

This score is copyright protected. A score can be consulted here: "Who Has Seen The Wind? for bass-baritone and piano." Cecilia Livingston, Canadian Music Centre, https://collections.cmccanada.org/final/Portal/Composer-Showcase.aspx?component=AF-Query-Composer&record=61843080-f290-4e7a-9715-b77d06c98e7f. Accessed 4 Feb. 2021.

Record: CRM-whohasseen-livingston

"© 2016"

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