Plango: A Cure Lament
High Soprano and Piano
Poet Jo Brandon
‘It is a piece of such power and beautify that it took my breath away’ - Olwen Fisher, BBC Radio 3 Producer
Plango: A Cure Lament was commissioned by BBC Radio 3 for International Women’s Day and was premiered by Soprano, Nazan Fikret, and Pianist, Rebecca Cohen on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune on 8th March 2021.
Programme Notes
Ella and Jo relished the opportunity to work together once again and set about focusing on the impact of the 2020 pandemic on women and, in particular, mothers.
While drafting different ideas for the poem, Jo stumbled across the concept of sound cures and how church bells had been rung to ward off the plague. That led on to discovering the word ‘plango’ (Latin) meaning a lament or expression of grief like beating the chest or wailing.
From there, the piece morphed into the idea that the expression of all these pent-up emotions and responsibilities could be a kind of ‘sound cure’ like the church bells; a way of communally sharing our fears and finding comfort and empowerment in expression, rather than quietly trying to get on and make the best of things. The piece was written especially for
Performance Instructions
The piano part makes use of both the sostenuto and sustain pedals. Please feel free to add other pedalling as desired without impacting on the effects of what is written in the score.
The piece changes it’s style wildly and rapidly throughout. Make the most of pauses, notated rubato and straight rhythmic sections.
There are no half-hearted sections of this piece! It builds and builds, ebbs, builds, ebbs, builds, explodes, but the energy is always high and on high alert.
This piece is to be sung and played as if you are someone who has held their tongue for a very long time, and it is now all bursting free.
Emotions: Grief, Despair, Depression, Anxiety, Hope, Numbness, Healing, Anger, Fear, Loneliness, Stress, Guilt and hope again.
Duration: 5 minutes, 20 seconds.
This is a PDF digital download
2 Copy License (Singer and Pianist)
Please support self-published composers and buy extra copies rather than photocopying
High Soprano and Piano
Poet Jo Brandon
‘It is a piece of such power and beautify that it took my breath away’ - Olwen Fisher, BBC Radio 3 Producer
Plango: A Cure Lament was commissioned by BBC Radio 3 for International Women’s Day and was premiered by Soprano, Nazan Fikret, and Pianist, Rebecca Cohen on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune on 8th March 2021.
Programme Notes
Ella and Jo relished the opportunity to work together once again and set about focusing on the impact of the 2020 pandemic on women and, in particular, mothers.
While drafting different ideas for the poem, Jo stumbled across the concept of sound cures and how church bells had been rung to ward off the plague. That led on to discovering the word ‘plango’ (Latin) meaning a lament or expression of grief like beating the chest or wailing.
From there, the piece morphed into the idea that the expression of all these pent-up emotions and responsibilities could be a kind of ‘sound cure’ like the church bells; a way of communally sharing our fears and finding comfort and empowerment in expression, rather than quietly trying to get on and make the best of things. The piece was written especially for
Performance Instructions
The piano part makes use of both the sostenuto and sustain pedals. Please feel free to add other pedalling as desired without impacting on the effects of what is written in the score.
The piece changes it’s style wildly and rapidly throughout. Make the most of pauses, notated rubato and straight rhythmic sections.
There are no half-hearted sections of this piece! It builds and builds, ebbs, builds, ebbs, builds, explodes, but the energy is always high and on high alert.
This piece is to be sung and played as if you are someone who has held their tongue for a very long time, and it is now all bursting free.
Emotions: Grief, Despair, Depression, Anxiety, Hope, Numbness, Healing, Anger, Fear, Loneliness, Stress, Guilt and hope again.
Duration: 5 minutes, 20 seconds.
This is a PDF digital download
2 Copy License (Singer and Pianist)
Please support self-published composers and buy extra copies rather than photocopying