Pillow Song

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="044fd5a3.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Paul Barker: Composer</B></FONT><B>    </B><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Paul Barker: Composer"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id40.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Marriages"><U>Marriages</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id51.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Phantastes"><U>Phantastes</U></A>   |   <B>Pillow Song</B>   |   <A HREF="id45.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="La Malinche"><U>La Malinche</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id52.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Albergo Empedocles"><U>Albergo Empedocles</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id46.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Sorceress Tale"><U>The Sorceress' Tale</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id47.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dirty Tricks"><U>Dirty Tricks</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id50.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Mechanical Operation of the Spirit"><U>The Mechanical Operation of the Spirit</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id48.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Stone Angels"><U>Stone Angels</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id49.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Songs Between Words"><U>Songs Between Words</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id70.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nye Tand, Eh?"><U>Nye Tand, Eh?</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="045d2b03.jpg"> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="pillow_song_photos.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pillow Song Photos"><U> Photos</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id117.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Excerpt 1"><U><B>Excerpt 1</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id118.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Excerpt 2"><U><B>Excerpt 2</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id119.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="More Info"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id120.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Reviews"><U><B>Reviews</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id121.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="More"><U><B>More</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id125.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="More Pics"><U><B>More Pics</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id126.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Libretto"><U><B>Libretto</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>Japanese text, sung in The Pillow Song, from "The Confessions of Lady Nijo", written in Japan in about 1307. The words were attributed to GoFukakusa, the 89th Emperor, and were addressed to Lady Nijo, herself.   </B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="06457400.png" border=0 width="87" height="832" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFCC" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>The Pillow Song </B></div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="06890040.png" border=0 width="144" height="260" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <B>REVIEWS (UK Press)</B></div> <div> <B>Review in Mexico:</B></div> <div> <B>http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2003/ene03/030131/03an1cul.php?origen=cultura.html</B></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2003/feb03/030204/03aa1cul.php?origen=opinion.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2003/feb03/03"><U><B>http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2003/feb03/030204/03aa1cul.php?origen=opinion.html</B></U></A></div> <div> <I>Paul Barker, in the Pillow Song, used a spare and haunting texture of solo soprano, chorus of four women's voices, and occasionally quiet gong-strokes, to off-set a gentle story of tenth-century Japan...this was enchanting.</I></div> <div> <I><B>The Independent</B></I></div> <div> <I>The Pillow Song demonstrated once again the remarkably individual gifts of the composer  Paul Barker (who also played oriental percussion as a one-person accompaniment).....</I></div> <div> <I><B>Classical Music</B></I></div> <div> <I>A composer of true originality, he avoids easy solutions on the one hand and fashionable obscurantism on the other. The Pillow Song displays that skill in vocal writing and in keeping music and dramatic action moving forward which Rodney Milnes hailed three years ago...the whole work, of about thirty minutes. would seem a gift to television and meanwhile merits major festival performances.</I> </div> <div> <I><B>Opera</B></I></div> <div> <I>Paul Barker's The Pillow Song (1988) is an intriguing piece...the vocal writing is well-wrought and grateful to the ear. Mr Barker has found a fluent style for his protagonist, whose occasional high melismatic bursts generate tension and excitement.</I> </div> <div> <I><B>The Stage</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="06617b30.png" border=0 width="279" height="179" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">     </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>MMTT, 1994, the South Bank, London</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>The Pillow Song</U></B> [1988] </div> <div> <B>The extraordinary life of Sei Shonagan, a tenth century Japanese court lady. </B></div> <div> Libretto by composer after The Pillow Book, the diary of a tenth century Japanese court lady.</div> <div> Premiere 1.6.88; <B>MMTT</B>, London International Opera Festival; dir. <B>Akemi Horie</B>.</div> <div> 2<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >nd</FONT> production by <B>Sally Langford</B>, Mansfield Festival and Arts Council tour 1991.</div> <div> 3<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >rd</FONT> production by <B>Caroline Pope</B> des. <B>Susan Stockwell</B> for <B>MMTT</B> tour, 1994.</div> <div> 4<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >th</FONT> production: scenes incorporated at <B>Trinity College of Music</B> production, 1996.</div> <div> 5<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >th</FONT> production: Festival Música y Escena, México City, February 2003</div> <div> 6<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >th</FONT> production: University of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. 2003</div> <div> 7<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >th </FONT>production: Ciclo de canto, CNA, Mexico July 2004</div> <bR> <div> <B>The opera recorded on CD </B><A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Publications"><U><I><B>ENTRE PALABRAS</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>