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My Fancy - (2014)
Lewis Carroll
for baritone and piano
I painted her a gushing thing,
With years perhaps a score;
A little thought to find they were
At least a dozen more;
My fancy gave her eyes of blue,
A curly, auburn head;
I came to find the blue a green
The auburn turned to red.
She boxed my ears this morning--
They tingled very much;
I own that I could wish her
A somewhat lighter touch;
And if you were to ask me how
Her charms might be improved,
I would not have them added to,
But just a few removed!
She has the bear's ethereal grace,
The bland hyena's laugh,
The footstep of the elephant,
The neck of the giraffe.
I love her still, believe me,
Though my heart its passion hides;
"She is all my fancy painted her,"
But, oh, how much besides!4 pages, circa 3' 15"
Lewis Carroll
"My Fancy" is found in "The Hunting of the Snark and Other Poems and Verses," by Lewis Carroll. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1903.
This amusing poem of three stanzas speaks of what some today might term cognitive dissonance. The setting breaks into two keys, C and A flat as the more lyrical side. A pendulum between whole tone colors and polytonal harmonies "paints" the first part of each strophe.
Thereafter, a more lyrical moment betrays second thoughts while the vocal line sings in palindromes over a more harmonically static accompaniment. Back and forth goes Carroll's comedian.
The score for My Fancy is available as a free PDF download, though any major commercial performance or recording of the work is prohibited without prior arrangement with the composer. Click on the graphic below for this piano-vocal score.
