We Will

Description

We Will

Medium voice and piano
2022
5′ duration
Text: Anton Chekhov, from Uncle Vanya
Premiere: May 11, 2023 by Clara Osowski, mezzo and Casey Rafn, piano, St. Paul, Minn.
Voice range:

Program Note

In the final scene of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, Vanya has despaired. His niece, Sonya, pities him, comforts him, and offers a way forward. This scene is the culmination of the 2021 Japanese film Drive My Car, in which Sonya is played by a deaf mute who signs the words. The silence of that performance allowed me to imagine mezzo-soprano Clara Osowski singing this foundational text. The song is dedicated to Ms. Osowski, who gave the premiere in St. Paul’s Landmark Center with pianist Casey Rafn in May 2023.