"As Duas Flores" ("The Two Flowers") for Tenor and Piano by Keane Southard

(Click "CC" above for English Subtitles)
"As Duas Flores" ("The Two Flowers") for Tenor and Piano by Keane Southard (2024).
Performed by Alex Gushrowski, tenor; and Evan Martschenko, piano.
"As Duas Flores" (“The Two Flowers”) was commissioned by the National Association of Teachers of Singing and Cincinnati Song Initiative, with major support from Lori Laitman, and was composed in January and February 2024. When I spent 2013 in Brazil as a Fulbright scholar, I discovered that Brazilian music was a deep and rich world unto itself that is hardly known outside of its own country’s borders. I also got a small taste of Brazilian literature and poetry, which is also a significant cultural tradition that is little known internationally. When I finally started to look at some of this poetry, I noticed a striking pattern of famous (at least in Brazil) poets of the 19th century who died extremely young. I find it fascinating (and, as a 36-year-old, intimidating) that at such a young age these poets produced art of such substance that Brazilians still read and study today. One of these poets was Castro Alves (who I first heard of because there is a city square and theatre named after him which I frequented in the city of Salvador) who died at the age of 24. This setting of “As Duas Flores” is my first musical setting of a text in a foreign language (excepting some commonly-set sacred Latin texts I’ve used in some of my choral works).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Did you enjoy this work? Consider commissioning Keane to compose something new! Follow this link to learn more about commissioning and how you can help bring Keane’s next work to life!: keanesouthard....
Or perhaps you are a budding composer yourself? Keane teaches composition, so sign up for a free lesson here: lessons.keanes...