Charles Shere: Two Rakosi Songs		2003
male or female voice, violin, optional percussion		back to list of works
score: currently unavailable. recording: see below		back to homepage

These little songs were written at the suggestion of Charles Boone to honor Carl Rakosi on the occasion of his hundredth birthday in November, 2003. I first met Rakosi in 1996, I think, when someone suggested to him that I might write music for his elegy on the death of George Oppen, The Old Poet's Tale. I began that piece quickly enough, but then had to set it aside to write the Trio for Violin, Piano, and Percussion; and when that piece was done, it seemed to conclude my composition; no more music came to me , and the Rakosi project seemed unlikely to continue.

This of course caused me considerable regret and even some remorse, as I'd promised Carl I'd write his music. I even avoided further correspondence with him after telling him the problem, though he was very gracious about it and generous with his sympathy and understanding. So when seven years later Charles suggested these songs I made no promise, and thought it unlikely I'd be able to do anything. I wanted to see Carl again, though, and I immediately wrote asking to resume our friendship, sending him this poem, written July 7, 2003:

He liked the looks of it, and told me to go ahead with any other poems that came to mind. But that was a bad time; music wasn't coming to me very often, and only one other poem was set, "A Riddle."

Came his hundredth birthday, and for some reason the program honoring him wasn't able to accommodate Boone's intended musical contributions. So he and I invited ourselves to Carl's house one Saturday afternoon — March 13, 2004 —  with a couple of conservatory students, soprano Hiroko Oshinaga and violinist Akiko Kojima; and we ran through the songs twice, without the percussion part. (I think the songs work either with or without it.) The first time through, after the first song, Carl looked at me and said, in his Chicago twang, "Charles, it's beootiful," and I've never been happier with a response to my music.

    You can hear "Cenozoic Time," recorded in Rakosi's apartment, here.

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rev. 8/6/2010