Composer

:

Samuel Barber

Genre

:

Vocal

Style

:

Song: Art Song

Compose Date

:

1952 - 1953

Average_duration

:

3:43

"The Desire for Hermitage, Op. 29/10" is a vocal composition by Samuel Barber, an American composer known for his lyrical and expressive style. The piece was composed in 1953 and premiered the same year in New York City. It is part of a larger song cycle titled "Despite and Still," which features five songs for voice and piano. "The Desire for Hermitage" is a single-movement piece that features a solo voice accompanied by piano. The text is a poem by the Russian poet Boris Pasternak, translated into English by C. M. Bowra. The poem describes the speaker's longing for solitude and escape from the chaos of the world. The music reflects the introspective and contemplative nature of the text, with a slow and meditative tempo and a melancholic melody. The piece begins with a simple piano introduction, setting the mood for the introspective text to come. The vocal line enters with a gentle melody, accompanied by sparse piano chords. The melody is characterized by long, sustained notes and a sense of longing. The piano accompaniment is similarly sparse, with occasional arpeggios and chords that provide a sense of space and openness. As the piece progresses, the vocal line becomes more complex, with a wider range and more intricate melodic lines. The piano accompaniment also becomes more active, with more frequent chord changes and a greater sense of movement. However, the overall mood remains introspective and contemplative, with a sense of yearning and longing. The climax of the piece comes towards the end, with a powerful vocal line and a more complex piano accompaniment. However, the piece ends on a quiet and introspective note, with a gentle piano coda that reflects the speaker's desire for solitude and escape. Overall, "The Desire for Hermitage" is a beautiful and introspective piece that showcases Barber's lyrical and expressive style. The piece is characterized by a slow and meditative tempo, a melancholic melody, and a sparse piano accompaniment that provides a sense of space and openness. The text by Boris Pasternak is a perfect match for Barber's music, reflecting the speaker's longing for solitude and escape from the chaos of the world.

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