For soprano, mezzo soprano, tenor/baritone, and piano; duration 35:57
Premiered on “Letters to Santa – Messages from Children, Aphorisms on Childhood”
December 6, 2016; at The Academy of Vocal Arts
Performers: Sara Duchovnay, soprano, Katharine Pracht, mezzo soprano, Keith Phares, baritone, and Laura Ward, piano
Commissioned by Lyric Fest
1. Aphorism: Grown-ups Never Understand (Antoine de Saint-Exupery) 2. A Box of Paints (from 1915) 3. A Few Questions 4. Everything, but not Everything 5. Aphorism: If You Want Your Child to be Intelligent (Albert Einstein) 6. Three Little Sisters (from 1907) 7. A Guy Named Krampus 8. Make Me a Dragon 9. Aphorism: One’s Real Life (Oscar Wilde) 10. A Small Request 11. A Surprise Attack 12. My Real Wish 13. Aphorism: Your Clear Eye (Sylvia Plath) 14. I Hope You Understand 15. Here are My Letters 16. I Know a Little Boy and Girl: The Spirit of Giving (from 1888) 17. Aphorism: The Soul is Healed (Fyodor Dostoevsky)