Register: Evening Peace for Soprano, Tenor, Baritone, Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano (score and parts)

Code: JP5117
ISMN: 979-0-3019-0450-3

Evening Peace by P. Brent Register is a large, 10-movement work for three vocal soloists, plus oboe, bassoon and piano, with a total duration of approximately 38 minutes. The text for the music is from "Improvisations on the poetry of Tu Fu (712-770)" by John Digby. The set includes a piano/score and separate parts for each of the three vocalists and the oboist and bassoonist. An additional piano/score can be purchased as a separate item (JP5118)

The first movement, 'Almost Autumn,'laments the fading flowers and the end of spring and is scored for the full ensemble of soprano, tenor, baritone, oboe, bassoon, and piano (4.5 minutes). 'Regretfully,'movement 2, is for soprano and oboe only (4 minutes). The text warns of impending dangers of loitering tribes from the north that in the past have led to death, chaos, and famine. 'What Do I Have to Eat?'in movement 3 (3 minutes) answers this question with 'A whole lot of nothing, a mouthful of air.' Yet there still is hope because a single coin found is hope: 'one step from poverty...one step to recovery.'This movement is scored for tenor and bassoon and is in a light, jazzy mood. Movement 4, 'Exile,'for baritone, bassoon and piano (4 minutes), describes a poor, but happy family. The father says, 'The best medicine here is contentment.' The fifth movement, 'No End to Wishing or Wanting,'for the full ensemble of vocalists and instrumentalists (4.5 minutes), tells of a flood and how, if the story-teller had the money, he would buy a boat and 'tie it to my floating wicker gate.'Movement 6, 'Missing Home and Family'is scored for baritone, oboe and piano (5.5 minutes). The story laments old age and a perceived lack of personal value. He says, 'Even the lowest servant of the court should be allowed to retire and spend the remaining days with his family.'Movements 7-9, about 2.5 minutes each, are played without pause. 'Up With the Sun'for soprano, tenor, baritone, oboe and bassoon is happy – spring has arrived early! 'Still a Little Tipsy,'for soprano, bassoon and piano, is about a poet who says to himself, 'one cool bowl of wine is worth sheets and sheets of poems.' 'Riverside Scene'for tenor, oboe and piano, describes a humble but peaceful thatch home facing the river. Despite the annoyance of bird droppings and mosquitoes, he still manages to 'pull out a decent poem every now and then.'The work concludes in movement 10, 'Evening Peace,'for the full ensemble once again (5 minutes). The story is about a father who thinks to himself, no matter what troubles happen, they all dissolve as 'I relish the aroma this evening after the meal, perhaps a game of chess or a little music with my wife and children.'

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