Lone Star
| YEAR: | 2020 |
| DURATION: | 5 minutes |
| CATEGORY: | Choral |
| INSTRUMENTATION: | SATB |
| PREMIERE: | June 20, 2021 Constellation Men's Ensemble |
| TEXT: | Rūta Kuzmickas |
| COMMISSION: | Constellation Men's Ensemble |
Program Note:
Inspired by and loosely adapted from John Keats’ poem "Bright Star", Rūta’s words in "lone star" depict the idea of endlessness amidst the persistently flat landscape that is Houston, Texas. Sleepless birds amass on the power lines above a residential street, and they flock with their eternal beaks ajar. Both Kuzmickas and Keats play with the concept of foreverness, grappling with the unknown and dealing with the fragility and brevity of life. My music is an attempt to further emotionalize and sonically depict these deeply human thoughts.
Lone Star
lone star, would I were steadfast
as a merle of sleepless birds
amassing on the power lines
above west alabama street,
and flocking, with eternal beaks
ajar, shepherds for floods to
allocate us temporary shores.
- Rūta Kuzmickas
Commissioned and premiered by Constellation Men's Ensemble as part of NOVA IV: house & home: www.constellationensemble.org
Recording: Atlas Arts: www.atlasarts.media/