Love Tender Breathing Fragrant by Stacey Philipps
Words by Solomon J.D. Fendell. "Love Lasts Like a Lily." Poetry Magazine May 1918: 77.
Fendell's simple, alliterative poem inspired a musical setting exploring the beauty and expressivity of harmony, dissonance, and meaning in each word. Tonal centers shift throughout and focus on phrases to the point of abstraction, meditating on the general theme of love, its myopic nature, its intensity, its fragility, its capriciousness, and its evanescense.
About the composer: Stacey Philipps writes music of close, lush harmonies and contrapuntal textures, exploring the human experience and timbres of voices and instruments in minute, exposed detail and vibrant, sweeping gestures. A lifelong choral singer, Philipps is an early- and new-music devotee, and currently sings with the Oregon Repertory Singers. Her vocal interests extend to a love of composing choral music and art song, as well as collaborating with solo instrumentalists and chamber music ensembles. She is also a concert
producer and arts advocate committed to building community by facilitating the evanescent thrill of live performances. Philipps holds degrees in music composition from Portland State University and in philosophy from St. John's College, Santa Fe. She is a member of the American Composers Forum, the National Association of Composers, Cascadia Composers, and ASCAP and is the proprietor of Sirensong Publishing online at www.staceyphilipps.com.
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Love lasts like a lily,
Tender on Time's trail;
Breathing burning beauty,
Fragrant, fine, and frail.