Nikki's Love Songs
Voice
solo voice with piano
work detail
instrumentation: soprano and piano
completion date: december 2020
duration: 22 minutes
texts: Original poems by Nikki Giovanni
recordings
NO ORDINARY WOMAN gives musical flair to written poetry with exuberance, expression, and lyrical agility. Soprano Katherine Jolly, accompanied by pianist Emily Yap Chua, brings to life a trio of song cycles that center around love. "Nikki’s Love Songs," composed by Dominick DiOrio to poetry by Nikki Giovanni, explores love with vitality, wit, and erotic passion. "Love in the Times of War" with text and music by Carla Lucero tells a moving story of a quest for meaning and love during a brutal war. And in "No Ordinary Woman," composed by Gwyneth Walker to poems by Lucille Clifton, a woman reflects on her own life and finds love within.
commission and dedication
For Katherine Jolly
Commissioned by the Oberlin Conservatory of Music
songs
1. And I Have You
2. That Day
3. I Wrote a Good Omelet
4. You Are There
5. Love in Place
6. You Were Gone
7. You Came, Too
8. Three/Quarters Time
composer's note
I am so grateful to Katherine Jolly for many things: the gift of the songs she breathes to life with her voice… the gift of heart that she brings to her students… the gift of warmth she shares with her cats… and especially the gift of wonder that she shared with me when she introduced me to the poetry of Nikki Giovanni. These poems are alive, and they needed no music, as they were already full of vitality, volume, and verve. I’ve tried my best to keep Nikki’s text front and center and my music always supportive, so the wit and whimsy of these words are the takeaway.
Nikki’s Love Songs were commissioned by the Oberlin Conservatory of Music for Katherine Jolly, and they are dedicated fondly to her, a small offering from me for the great gifts of her friendship and her artistry.
December 2020
information
recordings
NO ORDINARY WOMAN gives musical flair to written poetry with exuberance, expression, and lyrical agility. Soprano Katherine Jolly, accompanied by pianist Emily Yap Chua, brings to life a trio of song cycles that center around love. "Nikki’s Love Songs," composed by Dominick DiOrio to poetry by Nikki Giovanni, explores love with vitality, wit, and erotic passion. "Love in the Times of War" with text and music by Carla Lucero tells a moving story of a quest for meaning and love during a brutal war. And in "No Ordinary Woman," composed by Gwyneth Walker to poems by Lucille Clifton, a woman reflects on her own life and finds love within.
commission and dedication
For Katherine Jolly
Commissioned by the Oberlin Conservatory of Music
songs
1. And I Have You
2. That Day
3. I Wrote a Good Omelet
4. You Are There
5. Love in Place
6. You Were Gone
7. You Came, Too
8. Three/Quarters Time
composer's note
I am so grateful to Katherine Jolly for many things: the gift of the songs she breathes to life with her voice… the gift of heart that she brings to her students… the gift of warmth she shares with her cats… and especially the gift of wonder that she shared with me when she introduced me to the poetry of Nikki Giovanni. These poems are alive, and they needed no music, as they were already full of vitality, volume, and verve. I’ve tried my best to keep Nikki’s text front and center and my music always supportive, so the wit and whimsy of these words are the takeaway.
Nikki’s Love Songs were commissioned by the Oberlin Conservatory of Music for Katherine Jolly, and they are dedicated fondly to her, a small offering from me for the great gifts of her friendship and her artistry.
December 2020
