Turn and Forge the Way

Program notes

Turn and Forge the Way, for soprano and mixed chamber ensemble, is considered one of my strongest works in my portfolio. The piece features a rich mix of timbres that co-mingle with an often subtle soprano part. The text describes the gamut of emotions felt when leaving home to begin an adult life. More specifically, the text relates these feelings to various images of Maryland’s Eastern Shore (where Jo Simms Enke, Beth Hallworth, and I are originally from). The first sentence of the vocal movements reiterates the sorrow felt when leaving home (“Oh, How it sorrows me to leave this land that breathes”). The various movements depict experiences as related to each of the five senses. There are many recurring musical ideas heard throughout the piece that unify the movements. Among these are the descending chromatic figure and long tones stated by the cello and flute at the beginning of the first movement. This is also heard in the fourth and seventh movements.

Jo Simms Enke, Beth Hallworth, and I met while we were undergraduate music majors at Salisbury University in Salisbury, MD. Enke and I were composition students together and I wanted her to write the text for this piece to provide a unique and unexpected element to my portfolio. Hallworth was a vocal performance major at SU and she had expressed an interest in singing on my MM recital several years ago. This piece presented a wonderful collaborative opportunity for the three of us. To view an extensive analysis of Turn and Forge the Way, please click on the link for my Graduate Composition Recital Research Paper.

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