Song for tenor and piano
(PDF download)
Fruit of the Flower was commissioned by superlative tenor—and my good friend—David Portillo for his recital debut with Vocal Arts DC. David wished to craft that recital’s repertoire in part around his experience as a gay man and his proximity to religion while growing up. We found Harlem Renaissance poet Countee Cullen’s poem slipped perfectly into that thematic bill. Using neatly buttoned-up rhymed couplets, the poem explores the nature of desire and longing, and is at once a rebuke and an embrace of the legacy we inherit from family.
INSTRUMENTATION: tenor, piano
DURATION: 5:30
PAGES: 9
WORLD PREMIERE: January 9th, 2022 at the Terrace Theater at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. David Portillo, tenor, Craig Terry, piano
){kind=link}