Whitman Settings

這首由四首歌曲組成的 12 分鐘作品集最初於 1991 年為聲樂和鋼琴而作，後來經過配器，成為克努森迄今為止創作的最複雜、最萬花筒般的樂曲之一，在細膩和閃爍的質感中運用了大量的力量。開篇歌曲《當我聽到學識淵博的天文學家》（When I heard the Learn'd Astronomer）發展了《煙花燦爛》（Flourish with Fireworks）中驚心動魄的異音質感。克努森說："沃爾特-惠特曼的這些詩歌極具震撼力，但又異常簡短，吸引我的原因是它們在小畫布上描繪了宏大的自然現象"，他將這部作品描述為 "一部簡潔的四樂章交響曲，對太空或天空中的事物進行思索"

作曲家: Knussen, Oliver
樂器: Soprano Voice, Orchestra
出版社: Faber Music
原文簡介:
Originally composed for voice and piano in 1991, this 12-minute collection of four songs was later orchestrated to create one of the most intricate and kaleidoscopic scores Knussen has created to date, deploying large forces in textures which are often delicate and shimmering. The opening song ‘When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer’, develops the thrilling heterophonic textures found in Flourish with Fireworks. ‘These characteristically powerful but unusually short poems of Walt Whitman attracted me because they deal with grand natural phenomena on small canvases’ says Knussen, who describes the work as ‘a concise four-movement symphony that muses on things in space or sky.’ ‘A treat… As in his operas, Knussen displays a rare feeling for word-setting and graceful melodic writing.’ The Sunday Times (Hugh Canning), 23 June 1991 ‘Exultant and glittering.’ The Guardian (Andrew Clements), 4 August 1994