One Blue Sky is dedicated to Jany Baymor in memory of her husband Karl. Growing up, Jany and Karl were close family friends. When I learned of Karl's passing, I wanted to write something for Jany that would reflect the warmth and kindness that she and Karl had demonstrated to me throughout my life.

 

This piece sets a poem by Barbara Crooker, and there's a beautiful simplicity to her text. This setting uses shifting harmonies to demonstrate the changing light within the poem, from a blue sky to darkness to the light of the stars. One Blue Sky was composed in residence at Copland House in Cortlandt Manor, New York. 

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Purchase this piece for performance through Graphite Marketplace.

 

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excerpted from AFTER SEPTEMBER 11

 

One blue sky, fragile as a robin’s egg,

covers us all. When we sleep, grass

is our last blanket. Maybe the stars

spell different stories to you, to me,

but in the darkness of the night,

they are light enough to see by.

 

—Barbara Crooker