CONTEMPORARY ART SONGS FOR TENOR AND PIANO
Modern Song Cycles for Tenor Voice
Tenor–piano repertoire in contemporary classical music is surprisingly rare, especially in English. This page presents Lior Navok’s A Dome of Many‑Coloured Glass alongside a curated list of modern art songs and song cycles for tenor and piano, offering performers a resource for discovering expressive new repertoire.
A DOME OF MANY-COLOURED GLASS
for tenor and piano
Duration:
20 minutes
Instrumentation:
tenor and piano
Year Composed:
2000
Poems By:
Amy Lowell
Poems Included:
1. The Painted Ceiling
2. The Traut
3. The Crescent Moon
4. Climbing
5. The Pleiades
Language:
English
Written For:
Joe Dan Harper and Anne Kissel Harper
Commissioned By:
The Florestan Recital Project with
grant from the St. Botolph Club
Premiere Performance:
3 May, 2003
Boston, MA, United States
Joe Dan Harper, tenor
Anne Kissel Harper, piano
Program Notes
Amy Lowell’s verses for children brought back many flashbacks from my childhood – a period of exploration, discovery, and achieving little victories that we as adults often take for granted. My approach while composing the songs was to constantly shift between the perspectives of a child and an adult in interpreting the given situations.
A Dome of Many-Coloured Glass was commissioned by Joe Dan Harper and Anne Kissel Harper and was made possible by a grant from the St. Botolph Club Foundation.
Abstract
A Dome of Many‑Coloured Glass is a 20‑minute song cycle for tenor and piano setting five poems by Amy Lowell. The cycle moves between the imaginative world of childhood and the reflective voice of adulthood, capturing moments of wonder, playfulness, and emotional nuance. Lowell’s vivid imagery becomes a springboard for musical scenes that shift between lyricism, rhythmic vitality, and intimate storytelling. Written for tenor Joe Dan Harper and pianist Anne Kissel Harper, the work offers performers a rich and expressive addition to the modern English‑language art‑song repertoire.
Audio
Score Sample
Score of A Dome of Many-Coloured Glass for tenor and piano
About Contemporary Art Song
Modern art song continues the tradition of intimate storytelling through music, blending poetry with expressive vocal writing. Contemporary composers explore new harmonic languages, narrative perspectives, and text settings while preserving the clarity and emotional depth of the art‑song tradition.
Contemporary Tenor–Piano Repertoire
This curated list highlights notable modern works for tenor and piano.
20th-Century Works
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Ralph Vaughan Williams – On Wenlock Edge (1909): A foundational English song cycle based on A.E. Housman's poetry.
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Benjamin Britten – The Holy Sonnets of John Donne, Op. 35 (1945): Written following the composer's visit to concentration camps, these are among the most dramatic works in the tenor repertoire.
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Benjamin Britten –
Winter Words, Op. 52
(1953): A set of Thomas Hardy poems known for its vivid and descriptive piano accompaniment.
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Samuel Barber – Hermit Songs, Op. 29 (1953): Settings of medieval Irish texts; though written for soprano, they are a professional staple for tenors.
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Dominick Argento – Six Elizabethan Songs (1958/1970): Lyrical and highly popular settings for high voice that have become standard recital material.
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Gerald Finzi – Earth and Air and Rain, Op. 15 (1936): A quintessentially English cycle setting poems by Thomas Hardy.
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Ivor Gurney – Ludlow and Teme (1919): Poignant Housman settings originally for tenor, piano, and string quartet, but frequently performed as a piano-vocal set.
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Ned Rorem – War Scenes (1969): Intense settings of Walt Whitman's diaries, showcasing Rorem's mastery of the American art song.
21st-Century Works
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Lior Navok – A Dome of Many-Coloured Glass (2002): A 20-minute cycle for tenor and piano setting the poems of Amy Lowell. It explores the shifting perspectives between childhood and adulthood.
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Jake Heggie – Friendly Persuasions (2008): Four songs celebrating the friendship between Francis Poulenc and his friends, with text by Gene Scheer.
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Robert Paterson – Stepping into the Batter's Box, He Hears His Father's Voice (2005): A modern work for tenor and piano featuring contemporary American themes.
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Juliana Hall – Letters from George to Martha (2014): A dramatic set of songs based on the letters of George Washington, specifically composed for tenor.
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Morten Lauridsen – A Backyard Universe (2011): Lyrical and accessible settings of poems by Harold Witt.
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Clint Borzoni – Within the Looking Glass (2010): Features evocative settings of Lewis Carroll for tenor and piano.
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Thea Musgrave – Songs for a Winter’s Evening (rev. 2011): While originally for soprano, recent versions for high voice have been championed by tenors for their storytelling quality.