kuss works with u.s. poet laureate

Thu., Aug 13

Mark Kuss, professor of music (in photograph, on right), had an opportunity this summer to work closely with Richard Wilbur (in photograph, on left), the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning U.S. poet laureate, who was in residence at Monadnock Music, the prestigious annual summer music festival based in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Kuss, a composer, was commissioned to write some music -- settings of Wilbur's poetry -- for mezzo soprano and a small group of instruments.  The performance of these pieces took place earlier this month at the festival.

"I looked through a number of poems, finding some pretty amazing things," Kuss says.  "I settled on a small autumnal poem called 'Exeunt,' setting it three different ways -- each mirroring the structure of the poem in reductive form."

Wilbur's honors include the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1957 and 1989, the 1957 National Book Award, and the 1971 Bollingen Prize, among many others. In 1987 he became the second poet, after Robert Penn Warren, to be named U.S. Poet Laureate, after the position's title was changed from Poetry Consultant.   

Kuss has received awards from the American Academy and the Institute of Arts and Letters, the N.E.A., the Jerome Foundation, Meet the Composer, A.S.C.A.P., the Copland Foundation and others. His work has been performed by the 20/21st Century Consort, the Folger Consort, the New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra, at Merkin Hall, the 92nd Street Y, the MacDowell Colony, the Swannanoa Music Festival, the Monadnock Music Festival, Composers Inc., Vancouver Chamber Music Festival, and throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe.

Wilbur was involved in the concert, Kuss says, reading selections from his work for approximately 40 minutes before the musical part of the concert began. Then, before each setting was performed, he read the poem aloud.  Kuss says, "It was interesting to hear his declamation compared to how the texts were set.  I discussed with him how his texts had -- in addition to great imagery -- good 'sounds' -- and a specific  'mouth feel' -- how the words hang and fall from the mouth when read aloud.  He was quite interested in this idea as a way of physicalizing the texts."

Kuss says he "deliberately fractured" the syntax of the third setting, re-arranging the texts in order to redefine the imagery. Wilbur was interested in this proces, Kuss says, but less comfortable with as it involved altering his ideas.

Other poets and composers were also involved in the event, Kuss says, with other composers setting the texts of guest poets.  The event was recorded by a Boston television station. Following the event was a discussion about text setting and how one approaches musicalizing the words of others.