Away (from 'Evening Songs')
Vocal/piano score
PEL3005-Vocal Solo and Piano
A SETTING OF THE POEM "AWAY" BY MAX ERHMANN FOR MEZZO-SOPRANO AND PIANO.
This is the fifth of six settings of poems by Max Erhmann, commissioned by Louise Winter and Gerald Finley in 2000. The poet longs for time with his lover, away from the noise and superficiality of the city. The text affords striking contrasts in the music from the "jazzy sounds" of the city to the wonder of star-gazing in a country field.
Texts
Away
Words: Max Erhmann (1872 - 1945)
Music: Paul Halley (1952 - )
I weary of these noisy nights,
—Of shallow jest and coarse “good cheer,”
Of jazzy sounds and brilliant lights.
—Come, Love, let us away from here.
Let us lay down this heavy load;
—And, side by side, far from the town,
Drive on some lovely country road;
—And, wondering, watch the sun go down.
What time is left to us, come, Love.
—The woods, the fields, shall make us whole;
The nightly pageantry above
—Our little world, keep sweet our soul.
No peace this city's madness yields—
—A tawdry world in cheap veneer.
Out there the lovely woods and fields.
—Come, Love, let us away from here.
