Vocal Composition of the Day, Installment 4:
"Two Songs of Passion" for Baritone and Electronic Accompaniment (2022);
1. "Pears": Words by Linda Pastan,
2. "Her True Body": Words by Jerred Metz
In 1988, I began collecting poems to set to music someday, including both poems that I employed in "Two Songs of Passion". The idea for certain poems that I collected at that time was and remains to compose “songs of passion.” This is the first set that I have completed.
It was composed for baritone Andrew White's call for scores for baritone and synthesized accompaniment presented by Vox Novus. Honestly, when I collected these poems, the last thing I expected was a synthesized accompaniment to accompany the voice! I figured they would be accompanied by an acoustic instrument or instruments. Composing "songs of passion" electronic accompaniment was by far the biggest expressive challenge for me as a composer.
The set, "Two Songs of Passion", was presented in a virtual concert presented by , Andrew White and Vox Novus on 14 May 14 2022. Follow the next link to view this performance on YouTube.
Follow the next link to view a synthesized scrolling score music video of "Two Songs of Passion" on YouTube that I created to encourage live performances.
Follow the next link to view a watermarked PDF score of "Two Songs of Passion" on my website.
Follow the next link to download the free accompaniment track for "Pears" from my website.
Follow the next link to download the free accompaniment track for "Her True Body" from my website. https://static.wixstatic.com/mp3/f3e5c9_b1338a8825e84ab0aae333cc426db68d.mp3
The set "Two Songs of Passion" is available for licensing from me, and for sale from Sheet Music Plus. Follow the next URL to visit the distributor's product page for this title.
I hope you enjoy "Two Songs of Passion". Thank you for your time and attention.
Stanley M. Hoffman, PhD
Link to my website: https://www.stanleymhoffman.com
Biography Published in Grove Music Online (The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Oxford University Press)
The "Stanley M. Hoffman Special Collection" was established at The Berklee College of Music Library Archive in January 2025. It will take whatever time is necessary for the archive to catalog my collection and make it available to the public.
Website: https://archives.berklee.edu
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