Winter Stars

Constellation Orion Central Germany

It’s not winter yet! But here’s a winter poem, by Sara Teasdale, which I’ve set to music:

I went out at night alone;
The young blood flowing beyond the sea
Seemed to have drenched my spirit’s wings—
I bore my sorrow heavily.

But when I lifted up my head
From shadows shaken on the snow,
I saw Orion in the east
Burn steadily as long ago.

From windows in my father’s house,
Dreaming my dreams on winter nights,
I watched Orion as a girl
Above another city’s lights.

Years go, dreams go, and youth goes too,
The world’s heart breaks beneath its wars,
All things are changed, save in the east
The faithful beauty of the stars.

I used to love looking at the stars in winter; these days I live in London, where light pollution makes it more difficult. I can still see Orion in the winter time, though.

Here are some robot clarionets playing it:

You can download the score from the Choral Public Domain Library — if you’re not a member it might take a day or so to become visible. In the meantime you can buy the score from Lulu, or download it from my Patreon page from this evening at 8pm BST. Patreon is the main way I get paid for composing, and your support there is always appreciated.

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