FEVER

Davis Martin

7 views

2023

7 min.

Clarinet

Piano

Soprano

Program Notes: I discovered Mag Gabbert’s work after it was shared by another poet friend and was instantly enamored by her poetic world. In searching for a text to set for Haven, I knew that this poem was exactly what I was after – their sonic world seemed like a perfect pairing with Mag Gabbert’s text. My interpretation of Mag’s work is that she is describing executive dysfunction through the guise of feeling overwhelmed by normal, everyday events. The refrain of "I need a tissue" appears as something grounding but also feels like an intrusive thought... The final lines of the poem elaborate on the speaker finally finding relief; "they are coming out like scarves, and then doves." In my setting of Fever, I have attempt to encapsulate the anxiety elucidated in the poem. The piano provides the blanket feelings of anxiety, sometimes consonant but often dissonant. The clarinet feeds into the piano part, but also often re-enters as the stress itself. The piece culminates on the declaration I cannot change. Some solace is reached with the ending lines, but only in the context of overwhelmedness.
Recording Notes: Performed by Haven Trio: Lindsay Kesselman, soprano Kimberly Cole Luevano, clarinet Midori Koga, piano