It May Not Always Be So:
Songs Inspired On Poems By E. E. Cummings
E.E. Cummings (1894-1962) is one of my favorite poets, I find his poems very emotional, powerful and, at the same time, extremely delicate.
I had contact with Cummings’s poems years ago when my oldest sister offered me a book with a collection of his best-known poems. The first time I read those poems I thought that they would perfectly fit into music, in a song cycle with an intimate mood.
At the end of last year, while I was finishing other projects, I started to select some of my favorites Cummings’s poems that I wanted to put into music, ending up with a selection of 9 poems. That was a really tough choice because there are so many poems by Cummings that I love.
It May Not Always Be So is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful poems ever written, so there was no doubt in my mind that this would be the album name.
it may not always be so; and i say
that if your lips,which i have loved,should touch
another’s,and your dear strong fingers clutch
his heart,as mine in time not far away;
if on another’s face your sweet hair lay
in such silence as i know,or such
great writhing words as,uttering overmuch,
stand helplessly before the spirit at bay;
if this should be,i say if this should be—
you of my heart,send me a little word;
that i may go unto him,and take his hands,
saying,Accept all happiness from me.
Then shall i turn my face,and hear one bird
sing terribly afar in the lost lands
Source: Hello Poetry Website
The biggest challenge to me was how to pass on all the underlying emotions of those words and how to describe, by music, all the feelings that those poems evoke in me. I had to consider carefully the instrumentation to be used in all songs since I wanted to achieve the same type of mood and feeling in all album.
Being an album with a very intimate feeling, I opted for writing some of the songs for piano solo, others for piano and string quartet and only one of the songs will have a string orchestra.
By this time, I have written seven of the ten songs that will make the album.
As I’m writing these words, I’m composing the song based on the poem “I Carry Your Heart With Me”. Listen here this beautiful poem recited by Cummings himself:
With this album, I will give you my vision on these poems and I really hope to take you on a musical journey into the world of E.E. Cummings poetry.
If you would like to get free early access to the album, leave your email address in the form on the website. Before the official release, you’ll be able to listen to all tracks!