Gilda Lyons performs this new work composed with Daron Hagen for solo voice, exploring a poem by Walt Whitman with techniques ranging from vocal polyphony, to musical improvisation, to site-specific performance. In a single unedited take, filmmaker H. Paul Moon captures this evocative meditation on “Youth, Day, Old Age and Night” from Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass:
Youth, large, lusty, loving—youth full of grace, force, fascination,
Do you know that Old Age may come after you with equal grace, force, fascination?Day full-blown and splendid—day of the immense sun, action, ambition, laughter,
The Night follows close with millions of suns, and sleep and restoring darkness.
Composed by Daron Hagen & Gilda Lyons | daronhagen.com & gildalyons.com
Filmed & edited by H. Paul Moon | whitmanonfilm.com
Special thanks to Church of the Messiah in Rhinebeck, New York; The Joel Foundation; and Cynthia Shor and the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association. To find out more about the Walt Whitman Music Archive, visit: waltwhitman.org/music