The Swan (2017)

The Swan is a scena for baritone, specially written for Jeremy Huw Williams, who created the part of Hiroshige in my chamber opera Tokaido Road.

The text is a mediaeval sequence describing, in beautiful imagery, a migrating swan. The swan laments the peril and loneliness of crossing the ocean; only when it sees the constellation Orion blazing among the stars, does it take hope of finding a haven on the far shore. Originally an allegory of the soul’s journey, to me the poem speaks for all the migrants seeking a safe refuge today.

The poet Fleur Adcock has made an English version of the original Latin, matching the imagery with her own vivid words. My scena weaves together the Latin and English words.

This setting of The Swan is also available arranged for baritone and small ensemble: trumpet or flugel horn, and string trio.

The Swan lasts 10 – 11 minutes.