Songs of the Algonquin - Victoria for Cello & Piano Duo

This and the companion piece “Song in a Minor Key” Op. 3 were written as an exercise for a class on composition for high school students in Grass Valley and Nevada City that the composer attended. The song is based on a poem of Dorothy Parker entitled “Victoria”.

In general, writing songs may be approached two ways. In the first, the lyrics form the rhythm, tone and character of the melody with the notes chosen that reflect the lyrics. The second way of formulating a song is to “adapt” the lyrics to a pre-determined melody. The “Song in a Minor Key” was written under the first method described above. In the case of Victoria the “lyrics” of the poem were “fit” to the medieval Dies Irae theme.

The poem was adapted to use the first stanza as a repeating chorus using the Dies Irae theme. Between each subsequent stanza (written with original music of the composer) were quotations of funeral marches by Chopin, Tschaikowsky and Mendelssohn (Funeral March from the second Piano Sonata, March Slave, and Funeral March from Songs without Words respectively). These quotations were used because the composers chosen were contemporaries with Victoria, the Chopin funeral march is always played a state funerals, the March Slav was used to reflect the assassination of Czarina Alexandra of the Russians (the granddaughter of Victoria) and the Funeral Song without Words by Mendelssohn who was a close personal friend of Albert and Victoria.

The song was written between 04 December 2010 and 31 January 2011. The song was performed live in Peace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley on Saturday, February 12, 2011 with the composer playing the piano and sung by tenor Mr Rik Augustin.

VICTORIA
Dorothy Parker

Dear dead Victoria
Rotted cozily;
In excelsis Gloria,
And R. I. P.

And her shroud was buttoned neat,
And her bones were clean and round,
And her soul was at her feet
Like a bishop’s marble hound.

Dear dead Victoria
Rotted cozily;
In excelsis Gloria,
And R. I. P.

Albert lay a-drying,
Lavishly arrayed,
With his soul out flying
Where his heart had stayed.

And there’s some could tell you what land
His spirit walks serene
(But I’ve heard them say in Scotland
It’s never been seen).

Dear dead Victoria
Rotted cozily;
In excelsis Gloria,
And R. I. P.