The conversion of Lutosławski’s Lullaby from a piece for piano solo, to an ensemble which will accompany a soprano, is done: piccolo, bass clarinet, violin, cello, marimba & piano. The arc of the scoring is musical, there is nothing ‘automated’ about it.
And the verse adaptation of the text is ready:
“Yes, it’s true!
A bird once soared
To tell the wind
To carry her
Wherever it desired.
Across the ocean,
Said the wind,
To an island, to a hill
With an offer of seeds,
And insects, and the bones of man.
Still alive were three bones,
Three bones of an ancient man
Delighted by the feathery visit.
“Dear bird, be at home,
And beware,
For the soul of destruction
Resides in this lair,
And I am its keeper,
Both now and ere!”
Chirping and twirbling
In the cool cave air
The finch its beak
Did later clench,
When surrounded by
An imprisoned stench.
Flapping and fluttering
and fleeing the unjailed gas,
The finch peeped forth
A prayer that rang:
“Crows never sleep,
When strychnine dances!
Let us drop the poison,
Where happiness prances,
And crushes our woes!”
The length of the text is perfect for the scale of the piece; I am headed out for another walk while there is light in the sky, and then I shall begin seeing to the text setting.
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