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- Mark Adamo
The Racer's Widow (2009)
- G Schirmer Inc (World)
- vc, pf
- Mezzo Soprano
- 15 min
- Linda Pastan, Tennessee Williams, Marge Piercy, Louise Gluck, Sara Teasdale
Programme Note
Movements
1. The Racer's Widow
2. Across the Space
3. The Beloved
4. Jump Cabling
5. Sentimental Poem
Composer note
The Racer’s Widow is a cycle of five poems which I sequenced and scored to suggest the emotional journey of the title character. Linda Pastan’s “Jump Cabling” imagines the erotic sparks struck when a man helps the protagonist restart her stalled car. Tennessee Williams’ “Across the Space” and Marge Piercy’s “Sentimental poem” show two snapshots — one hushed and rapt, the other domestic and rollicking — in the romance that’s resulted. "The Racer’s Widow," by Louise Gluck, limns in harrowing detail the end of that romance; and Sara Teasdale’s “The Beloved’ offers a consolation that Gluck leaves unguaranteed.
The Racer’s Widow is scored for mezzo-soprano, violoncello, and piano; I am grateful to Roy Niederhoffer for commissioning the score.
— Mark Adamo