Seasons Falling Through the Clouds

The subtitle A Cycle for Voices and Instruments is probably the most succinct (and accurate) description of Seasons Falling Through the Clouds. Not only are there cyclic elements in the music, but the poems work together as parts of a cycle as well. The poems all have times and seasons as their primary or secondary subject matter, as demonstrated in the movement from spring (Blossom), to summer (Two Haiku) and on to late fall (All Hallows). Melodic material is shared by all movements as well. The opening motive of the first movement (E, F#, B, A#) permeates the composition, sometimes in the foreground, sometimes in the background. The “ Voices and Instruments” designation is also important: the instruments and the chorus are equal partners in the music.

Setting off the cyclic unity of the piece is the ordering and character of the individual movements. I deliberately tried to contrast the individual movements musically, based on the obvious differences in the mood of the individual poems. Both Two Haiku and The Ground Mist are slow evocations that are quite dissimilar to the more active textures in Blossom or Rain. All Hallows is a slightly longer movement, and in a sense sums up the entire cycle.

A Cycle for Voices and Instruments was revised in 2025 for the March, 2026 performance. The revisions were minor, mostly to ease some of the technical difficulties firor the performers. I like to think I have learned a few things since the original (1992) composition.