LAUGHING SONG
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'Laughing Song' uses the words from the poem of the same title in William Blake’s collection. Songs of Innocence was first printed in 1789 and consists of 19 poems that primarily discuss thoughts of pastoral harmony and bliss. Some of the poems, such as 'The Chimney Sweeper,' nonetheless, show the innate dangers of naivety, while others like 'The Little Girl Lost' were repeatedly moved between the gloomier collection Songs of Experience.'Laughing Song' takes this concept of duality and ambiguity and places it in a musical setting, immediately creating conflict within the melody’s mode and the general obscure atmosphere.
Allan Ginsberg believed the poems to be originally intended to be sung, and the fascination that composers have instinctively had to the collections, Ralph Vaugh Williams and Benjamin Britten to name a few, does little to disprove the fact.
'Laughing Song' is written for voice and piano and is cast in a miniature two-movement structure.
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MUSIC
MAD GIRL'S LOVE SONG
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The lyrics used in 'Mad Girl’s Love Song' are from the poem, of the same title, by Sylvia Plath that deals with themes like inner turmoil and depression. 'Mad Girl’s Love Song' encompasses a degree of word-painting in a sentimental pop ballad setting, whereby it exploits the sole presence of a piano instrumentation to highlight the intimate and sombre lyrical content.
'Mad Girl’s Love Song' is envisoned as somewhat of a haunting lament where Plath herself takes centre stage, alone, and enacts an emotionally raw and intimate performance.