Notes on the Work

Songs at the Well is a cycle of five pieces scored for two sopranos and ensemble. I used a compilation of Russian traditional love songs, laments, and khorovod texts to create my own narrative. The texts are unified by one theme: women in marriage. I tried to create some theatrical drama in each song by giving the two sopranos different characters.

The first song says that people find love only when the right time comes. The second is a lament of a newly wedded girl who ended up living with her husband’s unwelcoming family. The third is a frivolous song of a girl who tells how she made her wandering lover return to her. The fourth is an argument between the cheated wife and the “other woman.” The cycle concludes with a khorovod song, insisting that the young girls should go out, play, and wait a while before subjugating themselves in marriage.

Clearly, folk music has influenced the content, form, harmony, rhythm, timbre, and melody in this work. However, I do not use any one particular folk music or genre as a model. I try to create some kind of synthetic, imaginary folk music—a blend of some traditional elements, contemporary technique, and my own musical personality.

—Elena Langer