Jim Puckett

Composer/Arranger/Orchestrator

This short art song, based on the poem “Evening” (pub. 1896) by Emily Dickinson, is written for soprano with piano accompaniment. Using great expression in the mid to upper range of the voice, gentle melodic lines are supported by rich, haunting chords. Dickinson uses descriptive imagery, personification, and other techniques to point to the last phrase where the poem arrives - or rather becomes - “And so the night became.” Likewise the music mirrors this structure. With tonalities, phrases and melodic material that may point toward a stated key or cadence, the tonic chord is avoided throughout and never exposed until the music also “becomes” at its final chord. Written for Leah Ralston, this work received its premiere in April 2012 at Mount Vernon Nazarene University.

This work will later be re-released as part of a set of songs.  

Soprano and Piano

2:30 minutes

year 2012

$12

LISTEN: Hear Leah Ralston (Moore) perform this piece as a Bonus Track on the album In the Gardens. Available to stream/purchase on all major digital platforms including Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon.