July 09, 2008

Charles Edward Ives

There is no word      can hold a chord      no analogy fits ear
forte, into eye

      a stanza      a piano inside it would stifle, would rife with
            hands fitting felt to phoneme, syllables to hammers, signs
                  hinges, singing.

Seized by strings, a stanza      whose whole interior rings
syntax      tightened to tune
to show a word vibrate

                        sympathetic with another—

Structure is image as prayer is      to kneeling      the composer reasons :

   two hands      opens the keyboard       to weird the signature
      raise the voice         music retreats
            into form’s firmament

                                          divinity free to live without—

—Brian Teare

Posted by dwaber at 01:26 PM