Abstract
Rhetorical Flourishes: Three Shepard Songs (2010)
Music by Yu-Hui Chang
Text by Neil Shepard
Performed by Collage New Music
March 31, 2019
Pickman Hall, Longy School of Music
collagenewmusic.org
I. Oh! On an April Morning
II. Let’s Hear It
III. Empiricist of Clouds
Tony Arnold, soprano
David Hoose, conductor
Anne Black, viola
Jan Halloran, clarinet/bass clarinet
Craig McNutt, percussion
Christopher Oldfather, piano
Videography by Conrad Kline
Live Sound Recording by Frank Cunningham
Rhetorical Flourishes: Three Shepard Songs was commissioned by the Monadnock Music Festival. The premise of the project was to combine music with poems written by past MacDowell Colony fellows that have a connection to the Monadnock Region, where both the festival and colony are located. Among the numerous poems I received from the festival for my consideration, Neil Shepard’s writing drew my attention immediately. Unlike most of the poems in the collection that focused on the grandeur and beauty of the region, his works showed a writer’s vulnerability and struggle amidst the natural surroundings. The writing had no pretention or vanity, but much sincerity, reflection, and a little self-deprecating sense of humor. I also appreciated the pacing and rhythm in Shepard’s poems, particularly “Oh! On An April Morning,” of which I took great advantage in the first song.
~Yu-Hui Chang