Eric Whitacre

The City and the Sea

The City and the Sea is a set of five settings on poems by E.E. Cummings. I’m writing two versions: one for SATB chorus and piano; and one for solo baritone and piano. The baritone solo version will be finished Spring 2012.

The entire set is based on white key clusters in the piano. I’ve started calling this the ‘oven-mitt’ technique, because the chords are played as if you are wearing mitts on your hands – the four fingers all bunched together and the thumb on its own. Here is an example from i walked the boulevard, the first piece in the set:

Occasionally I break up the clusters and write the chords as arpeggios, as in this example from maggie and milly and molly and may:

I’ve sort of fallen in love with the style and sound of these pieces, and I might end up writing a couple more to fill out the set even further. In the meantime, here are the five movements that now comprise The City and the Sea:

i walked the boulevard

i walked the boulevard

i saw a dirty child
skating on noisy wheels of joy
pathetic dress fluttering

behind her a mothermonster
with red grumbling face
cluttered in pursuit
pleasantly elephantine

while nearby the father
a thick cheerful man
with majestic bulbous lips
and forlorn piggish hands

joked to a girlish whore
with busy rhythmic mouth
and silly purple eyelids
of how she was with child

E.E.Cummings, 1894-1962

the moon is hiding in her hair

the moon is hiding in
her hair.
The
lily
of heaven
full of all dreams,
draws down.

cover her briefness in singing
close her with intricate faint birds
by daisies and twilights
Deepen her,

Recite
upon her
flesh
the rain’s
pearls singly-whispering.

E.E.Cummings, 1894-1962

maggie and milly and molly and may

maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach (to play one day)

and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn’t remember her troubles, and

milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;

and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and

may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.

for whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
it’s always ourselves we find in the sea

E.E.Cummings, 1894-1962

as is the sea marvelous

as is the sea marvelous
from god’s
hands which sent her
forth to sleep upon the world

and the earth withers
the moon crumbles
one by one
stars flutter into dust

but the sea
does not change
and she goes forth out of hands and
she returns into hands
and is with sleep…

love,
the breaking
of your
soul
upon
my lips

E.E.Cummings, 1894-1962

little man in a hurry

little man
(in a hurry
full of an
important worry)
halt stop forget relax

wait

(little child
who have tried
who have failed
who have cried)
lie bravely down

sleep

big rain
big snow
big sun
bug moon
(enter us)

E.E.Cummings, 1894-1962