The late 1940s was a busy time for Weinzweig, as he was prolifically composing and teaching at the Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto). During this productive period, Weinzweig composed his first work for solo voice: Of Time, Rain, and the World. This early work demonstrates two important elements of Weinzweig’s style: use of the serialist technique and a rejection of formal poetry as text.
The text comes from Roget’s Thesaurus, a source that results in evocative single words and short phrases arranged into three brief songs: time as “run its course... had its course”; rainfall is “driving pouring ... drizzling drenching”; and the world is surrounded by the celestial bodies of Apollo, Diana, Phoebus, and Luna. The piano supports the imagery, with “flowing” musical motives in “Time,” high-register glissandi in “Rain,” and assertive, sustained chords in “The World.”
Written by Alexa Woloshyn
Original title: Of Time and the World
Score available for purchase from the CMC.