Three Poems of Stephen Crane by Rachel Lanik Whelan

I was extremely affected by the stark, realist poetry of early 20th-century poet and writer Stephen Crane. The narrator explores a desert landscape and meets a variety of devils and monsters along the way. I chose to emphasize the barren landscape of Crane’s desert with thin piano textures, as well as highlight the intensity of the monsters living in this desert with strident vocal lines and dense chords. My intention was to leave the listener with a sense of unease, to allow them to question whether the narrator is simply meeting these desert monsters, or one of them.

Text:
1. "I walked in a desert" (1905)
2. "I stood upon a high place" (1905)
3. "In the desert (or The Heart)" (1895)

Vocalist: Aubrey Nelson (https://soundcloud.com/aubrey-j-nelson)
Pianist: Michael Bies