The Music of Elizabeth Alexander

Works about Loss

Title

Poet/Lyricist

Voicing/Instrumentation

Level

Doors
A sweeping embrace of all heart-opening things: poems, mistakes, rain...
Poet/Lyricist: Dawna Markova
  • SSA, cello, piano
Level: MA
Even a Fist Was Once an Open Palm
A tender vision of the possibility and promise of peace
Poet/Lyricist: Yehuda Amichai
  • SATB a cappella
Level: A
Even the Stars will Wonder
Songs of love and loss in the aftermath of war
Poet/Lyricist: Rose Ausländer
  • Soprano, chamber orchestra
Level: A
Impermanent Things
A rhapsodic meditation on life’s beauty and transience
  • Viola, piano
  • Cello, piano
Level: MA
Like a Leaf
A rhapsodic setting of Wendell Berry's wise, simple words
Poet/Lyricist: Wendell Berry
  • SATB, piano
Level: M
Nature Creature (CD/mp3)
Songs on being alive in this beautiful, complex world
Poet/Lyricist: Lyon, Ignatow, Moore, Ammons, Erdrich, White, Hafiz / Ladinsky
  • Voice, cello, piano
Level: Various
Nature Creature (musical score)
A passionate, eclectic song cycle on the beauty and complexity of being alive
Poet/Lyricist: Lyon, Ignatow, Moore, Ammons, Erdrich, White, Hafiz / Ladinsky
  • Low voice, piano, opt. cello
Level: MA
No One Gets A Program
A bluesy, sassy take on a wise old saying
Poet/Lyricist: Dutch proverb / Elizabeth Alexander
  • Vocal duet, piano
Level: M
Sing Me Awake
A tender and rhapsodic meditation on our return to life after grief and loss
Poet/Lyricist: Gregory Orr
  • SATB, piano, string quartet or string orchestra
Level: MA
We Remember Them
A tender embrace of those we have loved and lost
Poet/Lyricist: Rabbis Sylvan Kamens / Jack Riemer
  • SATB, piano
Level: M
Y Comienzo a Bailar (“And I Begin To Dance”)
An intimate portrait of the bittersweet experience of memory, loss, and love
Poet/Lyricist: Elizabeth Alexander / Augustin Cadena
  • SATB, piano
Level: MA
You were meant for this
A fierce and vibrant farewell to a dying friend
Poet/Lyricist: Teresa Schreiber Werth
  • SSAA a cappella
Level: MA