A Primer Of Birds (Poems Of Ted Hughes)
I am currently at work on several settings from A Primer Of Birds by Ted Hughes for soprano and piano. I was fortunate to be intimately acquainted with Hughes's poetry after Motet Choir (my undergraduate chamber choir) took a setting by composer Paul Crabtree on tour. Motet Choir and Paul Crabtree both kindly gave me a volume of his poetry: I was hooked.
I am setting several of his fantastic poems about birds that explore the deeper meaning behind the behavior of the birds and their relationship to humans, creating a new mythology of sorts around them.