IN THE COUNTRY OF LAST THINGS (1998, rev. 2003), for soprano and 16 players

Eugene O'Brien:
IN THE COUNTRY OF LAST THINGS
I. Mareas
II. Tierra devuélveme (begins at 10:58)
Bridget Parker, Soprano; Indiana University New Music Ensemble, David Dzubay, Conductor.
Recorded March 2003
The title (with thanks to Paul Auster) of these two settings of poems by the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) implies a work solely about finality and endings. A clumsier but more accurate title might include the word “first” as well as “last,” since the initial poem, "Mareas," is a metaphor for beginnings, while only the second, "Tierra, devuélveme," concerns ultimate things.
The poems were written decades apart (1964 and 1935, respectively) and span several radical changes in Neruda’s style, but to my mind they form a complementary pair. Both are celebratory, with Neruda “praising the mortal error of birth and death,” to borrow words from Dylan Thomas.
The songs are sung in the original Spanish. The melodic writing in most of "Mareas" is recitative- and even chant-like, with instrumental solos and interludes extending and developing the vocal line. The vocal fioriture and their enveloping harmonies grow more elaborate over the course of the song-much as the text itself suggests-like a gradual encrustation of coral. In contrast, the setting of "Tierra, devuélveme" is texturally dense, largely fast, metrically and rhythmically complex, and speeds the work to a quick and abrupt ending.
"In the Country of Last Things" is a memorial to personal first and last things. "Mareas" is dedicated to the memory of Robert Beadell (1925-1994), my first composition teacher; and "Tierra, devuélveme" is dedicated to the memory of my aunt Margaret Stanley Hall (1916-1983), who gave me my first glimpse into the music of Stravinsky, Ives and Varèse when I was young.
-Eugene O'Brien
Music and program notes Copyright © 1998, 2003 by Eugene O'Brien. All Rights Reserved