The Corpse Lily (2025) - c. 10'

solo soprano

Perusal Score

00:00 / 10:22

Orchestration
solo soprano

Commissioned by/Premiere
Sputter Box (Alina Tamborini, soprano) at New Jersey City University in Jersey City, NJ (November 8, 2025)

Program Notes
This is a setting of a poem written by Sheila Duane, my mother. The structure of the poem is interesting because it is visually arranged such that it can be read in three different ways. I sought to convey this in the music, which I did by arranging the piece in three different movements. The first, "Rafflesia," portrays the text being read from the left side, which portrays the titular plant as a motherly being. In contrast, the second movement, "Madness," portrays a kind of maternal madness. The final movement, "Amalgamation," does not literally portray the text being read sequentially, but merges the words together in a way that evokes the spirit of this reading.