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Programme Note

Movements:
1. The Racer's Widow
2. Across the Space
3. The Beloved
4. Jump Cabling
5. Sentimental Poem

Composer Note:
The Racer’s Widow is a cycle of five poems which I sequenced and scored to suggest the emotional journey of the title character. Linda Pastan’s “Jump Cabling” imagines the erotic sparks struck when a man helps the protagonist restart her stalled car. Tennessee Williams’ “Across the Space” and Marge Piercy’s “Sentimental poem” show two snapshots — one hushed and rapt, the other domestic and rollicking — in the romance that’s resulted. "The Racer’s Widow," by Louise Gluck, limns in harrowing detail the end of that romance; and Sara Teasdale’s “The Beloved’ offers a consolation that Gluck leaves unguaranteed.

The Racer’s Widow is scored for mezzo-soprano, violoncello, and piano; I am grateful to Roy Niederhoffer for commissioning the score.

— Mark Adamo