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Marybeth Kurnat · Epitaph for a Romantic Woman (SSATB and piano) - St. Charles Singers

As a classically-trained singer with an instrumental jazz background, I developed an interest in finding ways to blend my musical worlds during college. After hearing jazz pianist Brad Mehldau’s song cycles for Renee Fleming (Love Sublime, 2006) and Anne Sofie von Otter (Love Songs, 2010) during my undergrad, I was inspired to try my hand at art songs. I was introduced to the American poet Louise Bogan through Mehldau’s settings of her poetry, and found her texts to be particularly moving. I began Epitaph For a Romantic Woman shortly after as an art song for soprano and harp, which remained unfinished for several years before I reset it for mixed choir and piano. I’ve dedicated this work to my voice teacher, Diane Ragains, with whom I studied before, during and after my college years. Like me, Diane began as an instrumental musician, but was later drawn to singing. She taught for over 30 years at Northern Illinois University, and as a performer, was widely recognized for her unyielding command of new music. She was profoundly talented, funny, and steadfast in her support for her students. Though I completed a degree in instrumental music, she always held me to the same standard of her primary voice students, and supported my musical interests and motivations wherever they led me. Prior to its completion, Diane was the only person I had shared this work with. I had just begun to revisit and rearrange it for mixed voices and piano when she passed away in 2017. As I grieved her passing, I felt a need to make one final gesture of gratitude, and pursued publishing it in her honor.

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