Composer’s Note:

The poet William Deatherage found himself in 2020 locked down in Kansas City. He decided on a course that in my eyes was rather heroic: on an almost daily basis, in response to images and experiences he had on walks in his neighborhood, he would write a haiku and email it to a small circle of friends. I was one of the lucky recipients. These are not strict haiku in terms of syllabic structure, but they do usually preserve the three line format, and the principle of a small but intense revelatory insight by the conclusion of the poem.

A large part of the writing was figuring out the sequence of texts and shifting accompaniments. In addition, while the majority of settings are for voice and solo instrument, there are a few where larger combinations occur (and at the beginning and end, a full quintet performs with voice). Finally, there are purely instrumental numbers (duo, trio, quartet, and quintet) that interrupt the flow with ghostly commentaries, premonitions, and reminiscences.