Alabaster Wool - William Jae

This was my first project at the Nancy and Barry Sanders Composer Fellowship Program. I took inspiration from Emily Dickinson's poem titled "It sifts from Leaden Sieves". In particular, I was intrigued with the phrase "alabaster wool", which was the metaphor she used when referencing snow. But instead of writing in a distinct classical style, I took a more progressive and experimental approach for this one. I wanted to experiment with extended techniques, atonality, and other ideas and coalesce them together into this piece.

It sifts from Leaden Sieves by Emily Dickinson:

It sifts from Leaden Sieves -
It powders all the Wood.
It fills with Alabaster Wool
The Wrinkles of the Road -

It makes an even Face
Of Mountain, and of Plain -
Unbroken Forehead from the East
Unto the East again -

It reaches to the Fence -
It wraps it Rail by Rail
Till it is lost in Fleeces -
It deals Celestial Vail

To Stump, and Stack - and Stem -
A Summer’s empty Room -
Acres of Joints, where Harvests were,
Recordless, but for them -

It Ruffles Wrists of Posts
As Ankles of a Queen -
Then stills it’s Artisans - like Ghosts -
Denying they have been -

*Written for and performed by the Lyris Quartet.