Mixed chorus, bass-baritone, horn, and piano.
Commissioned by Luke Zyla for the Parkersburg Choral Society
Poem: Emily Dickinson
Duration: 5 min 30 sec
Here is a recording.
Heart, not so heavy as mine
Wending late home—
As it passed my window
Whistled itself a tune—
A careless snatch—a ballad—
A ditty of the street—
Yet to my irritated Ear
An Anodyne so sweet—
It was as if a Bobolink
Sauntering this way
Carolled, and paused, and carolled—
Then bubbled slow away!
It was as if a chirping brook
Upon a dusty way—
Set bleeding feet to minuets
Without the knowing why!
Tomorrow, night will come again—
Perhaps, weary and sore—
Ah Bugle! By my window
I pray you pass once more.
Emily Dickinson wrote this poem in 1859. It depicts her reaction to hearing someone whistling a tune while walking by her window late at night. I have imagined that the tune she heard was Nelly Bly by Stephen Foster (published in 1850).