Comments on: Poetry for Composers

By: Peter White

Peter White — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:08:03 +0000

“set poetry to music”: don’t EVER.
By all means set music to poetry: long syllables, long notes; short syllables, short notes. Dead boring I know and it so often seems to gone out post Handel but the way the beautiful English language has been massacred by some later composers means that I avoid listening to any of their classical English settings.

By: Jerry Gerber

Jerry Gerber — Thu, 16 Feb 2006 03:28:53 +0000

Hucbald is apparently suffering from the banalization and degradation of song lyrics due in part to the obsessive need to make lyrics a vehicle for romantic fantasy rather than personal meaning and depth. And yet he is right, it will always be true that music alone can say things that words cannot. In my CD In Praise of Poets, I tried to unite poems of literary depth with musical expression. The problem of “give the people what they want” in terms of lyrics has gotten out of hand, the other side of the equation is to share with people the words of saints, artists, poets, madmen, ethical geniuses and other peacemakers as there must be a contrast.

By: Hucbald

Hucbald — Mon, 31 Oct 2005 07:59:42 +0000

You couldn’t PAY ME ENOUGH to set words to music. Lyrics are mostly just cover for composers who can’t write. Most of the time, anyway. I can’t stand any form of vocal music after Palestrina and Schutz. But then, I’m admittedly very weird. Whatever. I just want to hear music. Music expresses more than words ever could, which IS the point. For me, anyway. Words just get in the way.

By: Michael Kaulkin

Michael Kaulkin — Thu, 27 Oct 2005 20:53:07 +0000

This goes way back into the 20th Century, and for the life of me I couldn’t remember the details of how I got permission. So I looked at my own cover page to see what it said.

Turns out, I’d written a letter to the Liveright Publishing Corporation to get permission, which they cordially supplied by way of a boilerplate letter of agreement (which I hope I have on file somewhere). Also, they provided the exact wording that needed to appear in the score so as to acknowledge their permission.

I don’t remember how I went about finding the copyright owner, but I have a sneaking suspicion the internet played a role.

I’ve never had trouble securing rights to set poetry. I think in most cases, all you have to do is ask. If you use poetry without asking, you might be asking for trouble.

By: Heather

Heather — Thu, 27 Oct 2005 19:52:49 +0000

e.e.cummings, eh? What do you know regarding copyright and setting his poetry to music? For some reason I thought he was off limits. Even more generally, what do you know of the legal issues on setting poetry to music? We wrestle with this issue all the time in my duo, unsure if we can “steal” anything we want but very sure that our intent is all for the artistic “good.” Hmm.

p.s. do you remember me from sfcm?

By: Michael Kaulkin

Michael Kaulkin — Sat, 22 Oct 2005 16:33:22 +0000

M., you’re probably better off avoiding your friends’ poetry if you think it’s not good.

On the other hand, you might try sitting one of your poet friends down and explaining your requirements. Then you might get a good collaboration going.

By: M.Keiser

M.Keiser — Sat, 22 Oct 2005 08:26:55 +0000

I think that im a competant judge of poetry and analyzation, but maybe im just full of myself. Im not english major, but i think i can tell bad poetry when i see it (and i do, so often).

Im trying to get poetry to set to music, but am having a hard time of it. I want to write a song of some sort, since i never have. But i also want to use the poetry of my friends or people i know, if i can. As mean as it is to say, i wish my poet friends were better poets.

Nice choral music, by the way.