Details

mezzo-soprano + piano
duration: approx. 4'25"
Grade: 3 (intermediate)
Premier: November 11th, 2012
Recording: April Lee (soprano), Derek Maninfior (piano)

Price: $8

Program Notes

December conveys a story of waiting. Whether you're waiting for a particular moment to happen in your life, or waiting for someone special, once it arrives it is always spectacular and rewarding in some way. Musically, this piece isn't very challenging. The challenge for the musicians is to convey the text as passionately as they can. Musicians and audience members alike may take different meaning from the text, which was its intended purpose.

The reason I chose the key of Gb Major is based on theoretical philosophy. C Major is known as the Key of Purity; Gb falls directly in the middle of the C Major octave. While Gb/F# is the tri-tone of C and considered the "devil in music", I believe that in this key specifically, it is surrounded by the purity of C Major, representing pure love.

Text

Sunset falls down behind the sea,
Fall has gone and bare are the trees.
Cold swoops down as the fire roars,
Soon you'll be here to keep me warm.

As I wait for December.

Snowy caps drift unto the land,
darkness falls as I long to hold your hand.
Starry skies help light the snow and sea,
this cabins logs keep out the frosty breeze.

And I wait for December.

The wind picks up, the air is filled with white,
Outside through the trees I see a distant light.
I open the door as wide as it will go,
Warmth fills the room as I grab his hand and hold.

I've so long'd for December.

-C. Lexow (b. 1987)