It's part of our "Stolen Words" project: give music to British literature poems. This poem was composed by Stephen Spender (1909-1995).
Music: Roberto Maffione
Arrangement (using BIAB): myself
Vocals: James Higgins
http://alonetone.com/alfstone/tracks/what-i-expectedEnjoy!
Alfredo
Nice one, Alfredo and Ensemble.
Clever idea to put a Poem to music.
Works well with the Singers voice being just right.
I enjoyed the fiddle and mandolin solo breaks - fitted just right.
Ian
Beautiful way to bring the poem back to life. Loved the banjo in the background. Excellent singing +1 on the mandolin and fiddle
Nice job on this. Poetry is a hard blend quite often when it comes to putting it to music.....especially when you want to stand strong with the original lyric.
Main reason being is that there is no chorus to return to in a poem like there is in a song lyric, poems and poets continue forever onward, and their rhyme structure often doesn't jive with what one expects it to be in a song.
I must say, regardless of those issues, you did a fine job with this poem in putting it to music. I really liked the music to it. Nice instrumental breaks.
Guitarhacker wrote: Nice job on this. Poetry is a hard blend quite often when it comes to putting it to music.....especially when you want to stand strong with the original lyric.
Main reason being is that there is no chorus to return to in a poem like there is in a song lyric, poems and poets continue forever onward, and their rhyme structure often doesn't jive with what one expects it to be in a song.
I must say, regardless of those issues, you did a fine job with this poem in putting it to music. I really liked the music to it. Nice instrumental breaks
+1 to everything Herb said. Hope to hear more. Tom
Alfredo,
So very interesting. Loved the sound of the words - similar to listening to an early Dylan song for the first time - you become captivate by "the sound of the words"...
A good vocal and a good mix. The first fiddle solo seemed to "jump out" at you a bit. The next one (after the mandolin) was blended better. Everything else settled in nicely...
Cool stuff.
floyd
Hi Alfredo and Company,
a nice job putting this poem to music.
I hope you don't get copyright issues with
your "stolen words".
Guenter
Hi Alfredo, Roberto and James,
I'm sitting here on my computer tonight looking at all the songs I've missed out on posting comments for. It's going to be a daunting task catching up!
I'm really glad that I didn't miss this one altogether. As floyd has said, the sounds of the words are incredible. It's easy to tell that Stephen Spender spent a great deal of time getting the sonic fabric of the poem in place.
This is not the usual form of Art song that I've been accustomed to hearing. It's a real credit to all involved.
All the best,
Noel
Definitely something Dylanesque here. I like it a lot! Both the arrangement and vocal are perfect for the lyric and the production sounds great on my monitors.
I'd back off a bit on the gain of the fiddle on the first solo (as already mentioned) at least re the first few notes and maybe introduce the fiddle in a fill prior to it's solo appearance so listeners will know that "it's there."
This one really sticks with me. Just had a third listen. Thanks for sharing.
Guys, A really nice arrangement there.
With a super Country feel. Really liked the Mandolin and Fiddle solo, even though a tiny bit 'up front'.
A very fitting tribute and delivery of a beautiful poem.
Roberto & All...
Very, very nice! It's often very difficult to put poetry to music. You did a great job on it. nice arrangement...and the vocalist was perfect for this. Great job! Best to you...
Al & Di
You mixed it very well. The music supported the poem as you no doubt intended. Nice job.