Epigram and Epitaph (Fine, Vivian)

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PDF typeset by Paul Hawkins
rhymesandchymes (2012/5/27)

Publisher. Info. Vivian Fine Estate
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General Information

Work Title “Epigram” and “Epitaph: upon the death of Sir Albert Morton’s Wife”
Alternative. Title
Composer Fine, Vivian
I-Catalogue NumberI-Cat. No. IVF 24
Movements/SectionsMov'ts/Sec's 2 songs
1. Epigram
2. Epitaph: upon the death of Sir Albert Morton's Wife
Year/Date of CompositionY/D of Comp. 1941
Librettist Sir William Jones and Sir Henry Wotton
Language English
Average DurationAvg. Duration 5 minutes
Composer Time PeriodComp. Period Modern
Piece Style Modern
Instrumentation Contralto or mezzo-soprano and piano

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Fine expressed her feelings [about World War II] in two song collections. The first consists of two songs, “Epigram,” and “Epitaph: upon the death of Sir Albert Morton’s Wife,” on texts by Sir William Jones (1746-1794) and Sir Henry Wotton (1568-1639). Epigram is a parent’s hope that a baby will live, and Epitaph is a statement about a wife who died not long after her husband’s death. She wrote the second collection, Songs of Our Times (1943), for a concert that Lazare Saminsky produced at the Temple Emmanuel in New York to support the Russian/American efforts in the war.

—Heidi Von Gunden, The Music of Vivian Fine, Scarecrow Press, 1999

Review

…the attractive Epigram, of a limpid vocal line and imaginative instrumentation….

—Lazare Saminsky, Musical Courier, February 1944