Piano

(2012) - Baritone Voice, Fl/Picc, Bb Cl., Vn., Vc., Pno.

Text by: Dick Allen, Patrick Phillips, and Floyd Skloot

Duration: 12 minutes

Piano is a song-cycle that comprises of three poems that involve a musical subject. Although the titles of each song represent a musical element, they each have a much deeper meaning to the poem/song than the titles portray.

In the case of Floyd Skloot's work Silent Music, it represents a connection between a pianist and the ambience of her surroundings; for instance the creaking of the bench.

Patrick Phillips' Piano, the work is presented with a broken piano that was heaved through an open window. As the work progresses, the piano is no longer represented as a broken, abandoned, or unloved object, but a broken, abandoned, and unloved piano with it's true inner self still intact.

The cycle closes with Dick Allen's The Accompanist. This humorous work describes the relationship between the singer and the pianist. In the context of recitals, the singer always receives the most credit for a performance, regardless of the difficulty of both parts, and the pianist is left alone on the black bench. Although the singer receives the most credit, the singer shows concern towards the pianist. At the conclusion of the work, the singer stands back as the pianist finishes the song, allowing the pianist to receive its deserved credit.