David Liptak - composer

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Music for Voice


The New England Primer (2021)
Soprano, Baritone, and Orchestra (vocal score)
   Alphabet
   Dr. Watt's Cradle Hymn
   Verses
   John Rogers' Exhortation to his Children
   Names
Text is from "The New England Primer,"
1727 and 1777 editions.
Commissioned to celebrate the centennary
of the Eastman School of Music, written
for soprano Tony Arnold and baritone
William Sharp.
25 minutes
American Composers Edition
Theodore Front (vocal score)

Tony Arnold, soprano
William Sharp, baritone
Eastman Philharmonia conducted by Neil Varon
(premiere performance)

Folgore's Months (2008)
soprano and wind ensemble (vocal score)
     February
     August
     May
     December
Commissioned by Mark Scatterday and the 
Eastman Wind Ensemble in consort with nine
other American wind ensembles, this work sets
four of the "month" poems of the 14th-century 
Italian poet Folgore da San Gimignano, in English
translations by Dante Gabriel Rossetti and John Thow. 
"December" is dedicated to John Thow, in memoriam, 
and the set was written for soprano Tony Arnold.
15 minutes
Alfred Music
New Focus Recordings

Tony Arnold, soprano
Eastman Wind Ensemble, Mark Scatterday, conductor

 
Dove Songs (2013)
six songs for soprano and piano
     Refrain
     The Snow King
     Catherine of Alexandria
     Beauty and the Beast
     Catherine of Siena
     Flirtation
Poetry by Rita Dove 
Composed for soprano Tony Arnold
18 minutes
American Composers Edition
Theodore Front
New Focus Recordings

Tony Arnold, soprano, Jacob Greenberg, piano

 
Ancient Songs (1992)
baritone, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion   
   The Stars
   Aiken Drum
   Ghosts & Shadows
   Death Song
   The Wreckage of the Moon
baritone, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion
Text is taken from a diverse collection of poems from old
traditions, a nursery rhyme, and a poem by James Wright.
Written for baritone William Sharp, who premiered the work 
with the 20th-Century Consort in Washington.
22 minutes
Keiser Southern Music
Theodore Front
Bridge Records

William Sharp, baritone
Dinosaur Annex Ensemble

 
Under the Resurrection Palm (1993)
baritone voice, violin
   The Bookstall
   Canary
   Crocuses
   In the Museum
   Under the Resurrection Palm
Text are poems by Linda Pastan and Rita Dove.
Written for baritone William Sharp and violinist Catherine Tait. 
20 minutes
Keiser Southern Music
Theodore Front
Albany Records

William Sharp, baritone, Catherine Tait, violin

 
The Sleepers (2015)
soprano, chamber orchestra (vocal score)
Text is taken from the 8th and final part
of Walt Whitman's "The Sleepers," from
Leaves of Grass
Commissioned by Cordancia
12 minutes
American Composers Edition
Theodore Front

Tyler Cassidy-Heacock, soprano
Cordancia Chamber Orchestra, Rachel Lauber, conductor

The Eye that Directs a Needle (2010)
soprano, violin, and percussion
Text is from the journal of Maria Mitchell (1818-1889),
an important American astronomer and one of the 
original faculty members of Vassar College. 
Written for soprano Jamie Jordan.
8 minutes
American Composers Edition
Theodore Front
Ravello Records

Jamie Jordan, soprano
Pia Liptak, violin
Megan Arns, percussion

 
Songs for Persephone (1997)
soprano, flute, guitar
   The Night Opens Out
   The Musicians
   Persephone Drinks
   The Musicians Stop Playing
   Love
The text is a set of five excerpts from the poetical 
novel "Persephone" by Homero Aridjis.
Composed for the Boyd-Goluses flute-guitar duo.
14 minutes
Keiser Southern Music
Theodore Front
Hal Leonard
Albany Records

Kathryn Lewek, soprano
Bonita Boyd, flute
Nicholas Coluses, guitar

 
Seven Songs (1984)
barirtone voice and piano
   The Jewel
   Twilights
   Beginning
   Two Hangovers
   Milkweed
   Spring Images
   A Dream of Burial
Composed for baritone William Sharp
27 minutes
Keiser Southern Music
Gasparo Records

David Liptak · Seven Songs: A Dream Of Burial
William Sharp, baritone, Anton Nel, piano

 


The Wreckage of the Moon (1989)
mezzo-soprano, violin or cello
Poem by James Wright
9 minutes
American Composers Edition (violin version)
American Composers Edition (cello version)

 
Away (2005)
SATB chorus, flute, clarinet, percussion, string quartet
6 minutes
Keiser Southern Music
Hal Leonard
Theodore Front (piano/vocal score)


 
 
David Liptak © 2022