Visions of Eternity – song cycle for soprano and piano

Visions of Eternity – Emily Dickinson wrote many poems that contemplate faith and the meaning of death.  The six songs in this cycle present a variety of answers to that contemplation.  In “The Doomed — regard the Sunrise” we see a prisoner who will be beheaded at dawn.  His next sunrise will be his last, but somehow the poem implies that the coming of the day will also be his ticket to eternity, his entrance into the kingdom of heaven.  “Papa Above” is a very short prayer that a mouse might enjoy “seraphic cupboards” in a heaven made for the minor characters in life.  The third song is about a woman who suffered great pain while she was alive and how she will be missed by those who saw her every day.  However, now she joins those in heaven, a shy face in the crowd.  The fourth song proclaims those buried as “safe” from the events of the world.    “I’ve heard an Organ talk sometimes” is about the mystery of faith.  Sometimes it moves one, even though the message may not be fully understood.  The last song proclaims Emily’s faith that she will be “Going to Heaven!”  She will be humbled by the experience, not worrying about attire because she will be going “home”. Although not in a hurry to leave this life, there she expects to meet those she has lost.

Difficult

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To listen to “The Doomed – regard the Sunset,” click here.

To listen to “Papa Above,” click here.

To listen to “She bore it till the simple veins,” click here.

To listen to “Safe in their Alabaster Chambers,” click here.

To listen to “I’ve heard an Organ talk, sometimes,” click here.

To listen to “Going to Heaven!” click here.