The Sparrows
ensemble
Solo Tenor with 2 Flutes (2nd doubling Piccolo), Oboe, 2 B-flat Clarinets (2nd doubling Bass Clarinet, E-flat Alto Saxophone, Bassoon (doubling Contrabassoon), F Horn, 2 Trumpets, Trombone, 2 Percussion, Harp, 2 Violins, Viola, Cello, Double Bass
duration
Three movements, approx. 18 minutes
I. A Song, approx. 6 min.
II. Our Star, approx. 4 min.
III. An Invitation, approx. 8 min.
Recordings
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Score
Notes
The Sparrows is a song cycle for tenor and chamber orchestra, featuring original texts by the American poet Geoffrey Nutter. In three movements, the cycle reflects on love from different facets, offering a contemplative and personal journey through lyrical images of the sea and sky, rituals, plainness, and mythology. The texts observe the world through a lens that blends the everyday with the mythic, providing a composer’s playground for exploring human connection and transformation.
As a long-time collaborator and admirer of Geoffrey’s work, I have always found his poetry to be a source of inspiration—its mysterious, dreamlike quality ignites musical ideas with comforting immediacy. When I commissioned Geoffrey for this project, I gave him complete freedom to write on any subject, trusting that music would flow just as it always has. The poems that Geoffrey created, which he described as simply “love poems,” allow the tenor to inhabit a sound world shaped by the emotional undertones of the poetry rather than its literal meaning.
The first movement embraces the duality of love as both a palpable and fleeting experience. The second movement meditates on time and the quiet intimacy of being seen wholly by another human. The final movement celebrates transformation, evoking the essence of life’s continuous transition that shapes one’s identity and relationships.
In composing this work, I sought to honor each text for its interpretive depth, creating music that envelops the voice and allows the listener to experience its overarching message, to savor the present through music that breathes alongside the poetry.
World Premiere
Performed by Trevor Shaw, tenor soloist, and The University of Texas at Austin New Music Ensemble, conducted by Ryan S. Kelley, on April 11, 2022 at The University of Texas at Austin Sarah and Earnest Butler School of Music.
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