Cycle of Friends
for soprano solo, SATB chorus, and chamber orchestra • 25 minutes
A lyrical meditation on friendship drawn from diverse texts by Sappho, Dickinson, and ancient poets from around the world
“…exceptionally beautiful on all counts!”
–Chestnut Hill Local, Philadelphia
Perusal Scores & Rental
Conductors and presenting organizations interested in programming Cycle of Friends are invited to request a perusal score or performance materials.
CONTACT ME
michael.kaulkin@gmail.com
Quick Facts
Duration:
25′
Forces:
Soprano solo, SATB chorus (sometimes SATB + SATB), chamber orchestra
Instrumentation:
1,1,1,1 – 1 hn, 1 tpt – hp – 2 perc – strings min. 4,3,2,2,1
Premiere:
May, 1996 – The Music Group of Philadelphia, Seán Deibler, Artistic Director, with Orchestra 2001
Interview:
🎧 Listen to my 2024 interview about Cycle of Friends
with Sergio Barer for his podcast Let’s Talk About Music.
Watch & Listen
Movements II and IV with video montage of the score
Deep Dive: Explore the Movements
Explore the full cycle one movement at a time — listen, read the poetry, and imagine it in performance.
I. TELL EVERYONE
Sappho (ca. 630-570 BC), trans. Mary Barnard
Listen with text
Tell everyone
Now, today, I shall sing beautifully for my friends’ pleasure
II. MY OLD FRIEND PREPARED A CHICKEN WITH MILLET
Meng Haoran (689-740), trans. Innes Herdan
Listen with text
My old friend prepared a chicken with millet,
Inviting me to visit his country home,
Where the green of the trees
Girdles the village
And beyond the walls the blue hills begin.
We opened your windows to inspect the kitchen-garden,
Took some wine, and spoke of mulberries and flax.
Wait until the Autumn Festival:
I shall come again,
to enjoy your chrysanthemums.
III. ARE FRIENDS DELIGHT OR PAIN?
Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
Listen with text
Are Friends Delight or Pain?
Could Bounty but remain
Riches were good –
But if they only stay
Ampler to fly away
Riches are sad.
IV. BLUE HILLS OVER THE NORTH WALL
Li Po (701-762), trans. Innes Herdan
Listen with text
Blue hills over the north wall;
White water swirling to the east of the city:
This is where you must leave me –
A lone puff of thistledown on a thousand mile journey.
Ah the drifting clouds and the thoughts of a wanderer!
The setting sun and emotions of old friends.
A wave of the hand now and you are gone.
Our horses whinnied to each other at parting.
V. LIKE A QUETZAL PLUME
* Nezahualcóyotl of Texcoco, (ca. 1403–1472)
Listen with text
Like a quetzal plume, a fragrant flower,
friendship sparkles:
like heron plumes, it weaves itself into finery.
Our song is a bird calling out like a jingle:
how beautiful you make it sound!
Here, among flowers that enclose us,
among flowery boughs you are singing.
* This text originates in the Nahuatl Cantares Mexicanos, attributed to Nezahualcóyotl of Texcoco (ca. 1403–1472). The English rendering used here is widely circulated in modern anthologies of friendship poetry, but no translator is credited.
Perusal Scores & Rental
Conductors and presenting organizations interested in programming Cycle of Friends are invited to request a perusal score or performance materials.
CONTACT ME
michael.kaulkin@gmail.com