Michael Tilson Thomas: Whitman Songs

for Baritone and piano

Premiere
30 September 1999
Thomas Hampson, baritone
San Francisco Symphony
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor

Songs
I. Who Goes There? -- 3' 22"
II. At Ship's Helm -- 5' 33"
III. We Two Boys Together Clinging -- 5' 22"

Composer note
In my early thirties I began reading Walt Whitman, starting with Leaves of Grass. The encounter, particularly with Song of Myself, was transforming. Whitman’s life work is revolutionary, and it helped me deal with the big question of “Who am I?” One of the answers Whitman gave me was, “I am an American.”

The musical language of the Whitman Songs are a blend of several styles, including folk song, rock and roll ballads, and lyrical Broadway. This breadth of reference poses a challenge to the singer. The songs need a fearless baritone with an easy top who, in addition to being good at lieder and opera, needs to feel comfortable with popular music. Writing these songs for Thomas Hampson has been an essential part of the joy and urgency that I hope they convey.

These songs follow a journey from dissonance to consonance. Who Goes There?, from Song of Myself, is the toughest of the three, with the most hard-edged harmonies and the most jagged vocal line. At Ship’s Helm, from Sea-Drift, is a lyrical interlude in a slower tempo. We Two Boys Together Clinging, from Calamus, is a march, even though it is often in three-four time. Its harmonies are firmly triadic. The opening lines, “We two boys together clinging/One the other never leaving,” suggests a sentimental genre, but in fact the poem is a crescendo of determination and strength, culminating in the military image of “fulfilling our foray.”

— Michael Tilson Thomas