Flos Lunae
For Mezzo & Guitar
Performed by by the Bowers Fader Duo

I would not alter thy cold eyes,  
Nor trouble the calm fount of speech  
With aught of passion or surprise.  
The heart of thee I cannot reach:  
I would not alter thy cold eyes!  

Ernest Dowson 1867-1900

Twelve Keys of Basilius Valentinus: A Song Cycle
Fifth Key: Ignis
for Soprano and Piano

Twelve Keys of Basilius Valentinus: A Song Cycle
First Key: Alchemia
for Soprano and Piano with narration.

Performed by Valentina Díaz & Barney Tabor.

Twelve Keys of Basilius Valentinus: A Song Cycle
Sixth Key: Ignis (pbh)
for Soprano and Piano

Twelve Keys of Basilius Valentinus: A Song Cycle Fourth Key: Amor
for Soprano and Piano.

Twelve Keys of Basilius Valentinus: A Song Cycle Introduction:
L’Azoth Des Philosophes
for Soprano and Piano with narration.

This first song of a thirteen piece song cycle consists of narration, spoken, and sung texts sourced from Alchemical writings of the 15th and 17th Centuries. The medieval text "The Twelve Keys of Basilius Valentinus" attributed to a Benedictine monk is the primary text that explains how the alchemist is to achieve the Philospher's Stone. The Latin text is sourced from the acronyms found on the engravings from the 17th-century book "L'Escalier des sages" by Barent Coenders van Helpen.

Discipline for voice and piano, text by English Metaphysical poet George Herbert (1593-1633)

Throw away thy rod,
Throw away thy wrath:
O my God, Take the gentle path.
For my heart’s desire Unto thine is bent:

I aspire To a full consent.
Not a word or look I affect to own,
But by book, And thy book alone.
Though I fail, I weep: Though I halt in pace, Yet I creep To the throne of grace.

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I am the rose of Sharon

I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.
As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the maidens.
Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.
My beloved is mine, and I am his.

Song of Solomon 21st Century King James Version

A Rare Rose for Piano and Voice.
I picked a rose from a bouquet.
Its petals were soft and smooth,
Her face came to my mind
It was delicate just like a rose.
The fragrance was soft and sweet.
Bringing memories of the past,
It reminds me of her many years ago,
As she held me close with understanding.
I miss her even though she is here.
She gave me love through the years.
My heart still cries happy tears,
Each time I hear her voice.
Oh, Mother you are and shall always be,
The first love in my heart.

Poem by Phillip Leach, thank you for the kind permission to use this text by Ginger Jones-Robinbson.

Ore, Fermate il Volo for Baritone & Guitar.

Ore, fermate il volo Nel lucido oriente,
Mentre s'en vola il ciel rapidamente;
E, carolando intorno A l'alba matutina
Ch'esce da la marina,
L'umana vita ritardate e'l giorno.
E voi, Aure veloci, Portate i miei sospiri
Là dove Laura spiri E riportate a me sue chiare voci,
Sì che l'ascolti io solo,
Sol voi presenti e'l signor nostro Amore,
Aure soavi ed Ore.

Italian text by Torquato Tasso (d. 1595)

Let Me Not Forget for Voice and Piano.

Let me not forget to pluck the petals of a rose
After its bloom has gone.
Let me not forget to kiss my lips with rosy morn.
Let me not forget that evening shadows come
When sunset's glory wanes and fades
Let me not forget that stars are overhead

Fancy's Garden and Other Poems (1924)
Luisa Re Mondini (1883-1963)

On The Embankment. For Voice & Guitar
Performed here by the Bowers Fader Duo

 A mist on the darkened river Falls:
in the rippled stream
The yellow lights shake and quiver,
The red lights quiver and gleam.
For us in the maze of error,
More weak than the wind-swept foam,
The lights in the stream's dark mirror
Seem lights of a perfect home.
The tranquil river is going
Down to the tranquil sea,
And ah that its waves were flowing
Silently over me!

Theodore Wratislaw, (d.1933)

Vita de la mia vita for voice and guitar
Vita de la mia vita, tu mi somigli pallidetta oliva,
o rosa scolorita.
Né di beltà sei priva,
ma in ogni aspetto tu mi sei gradita,
o lusinghiera, o schiva.
E se mi segui o fuggi, soavemente mi consumi e struggi.

 Torquato Tasso (d. 1595)