List of Works || Of Time, Rain, and the World

Of Time, Rain, and the World (1947)

1. Time, 2. Rain, 3. The World

Voice, Piano

Duration: 6 minutes

First Performance: 20 October 1948, Toronto; CBC broadcast, Frances James, Earle Moss

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.