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These four songs on poems by E. E. Cummings are whimsical songs about love - in its many guises, moods and places. Love fills us, surrounds us and brings our lives into focus, so that everywhere is here.
Notes by the composer
Additional comments from the composer about the third song: When creating a musical setting of "let's open the year!" the composer was especially influenced by the punctuation and line division of the poem. For the first two stanzas, lines 2 and 3 seemed to be "qualifying" lines to the outer expression. They were the less important phrases (yet charming!). Therefore, the dynamics in the music correlated, with mf for the main lines 1 and 4, and p for the secondary lines.
The final stanza shows a different form, with three significant lines (at mf and f) followed by the last, p "qualifying" line ("and april's where we're").
A closing section alternates between "love!" (sung mf) and "yes!" (p). The composer plays with this dialogue, ending with a forceful "yes!" and a quiet "most definitely yes!" And, of course, a celebratory, "toasting" gesture is the final punctuation.
In movement #3, page 10, the mf dynamic in measure 5 should instead be at the end of measure 6