Composer

:

Morton Feldman

Genre

:

Vocal

Style

:

Vocal Music

Compose Date

:

1962

Average_duration

:

9:24

Morton Feldman's 'The O'Hara Songs' is a song cycle composed in 1960 for soprano voice and piano. The work is based on the poetry of Frank O'Hara, an American poet and art critic. The premiere of the work took place on May 17, 1960, at the Living Theatre in New York City, with soprano Joan La Barbara and pianist David Tudor. The cycle consists of five movements, each of which sets a different poem by O'Hara. The first movement, "Wind," is characterized by its sparse, delicate piano accompaniment and the soprano's ethereal, floating vocal line. The second movement, "Poem," is more rhythmic and features a more active piano part. The third movement, "Fantasy," is slower and more introspective, with the soprano's voice weaving in and out of the piano's gentle arpeggios. The fourth movement, "A City Winter," is more dissonant and angular, with the soprano's voice soaring over the piano's jagged chords. The final movement, "Music," is the most abstract of the cycle, with the soprano's voice and the piano's accompaniment both becoming more fragmented and disjointed. Overall, 'The O'Hara Songs' is characterized by its spare, delicate textures and its emphasis on the interplay between the soprano's voice and the piano's accompaniment. Feldman's use of silence and space is also a notable feature of the work, with long pauses between phrases and sections creating a sense of contemplation and introspection. The cycle is a prime example of Feldman's unique approach to composition, which emphasized the exploration of sound and the creation of a meditative, contemplative atmosphere.

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