Songs Of Eternity

Ever since I read the Ruba’iyat of Omar Khayyam (12th century Persian poet) in my teenage years, I fell under the spell of his poetry. When the time came to write a work for my dear friend, Renée Fleming, I set my sights on Khayyam’s poems. The challenge was to choose nine Ruba’is (two-lined stanza of Persian poetry), out of hundreds, to read like a cohesive selection of poems. During the period of compositional sketching, Khayyam’s poetry forced me to reevaluate many of my philosophical and moral values concerning life. Once I settled on the essence of my musical response to Khayyam’s poetry and the meaning of life, the work progressed rapidly. Songs of Eternity is a musical documentation of my emotional journey, an expression of love and peace, and an affirmation of eternal life. The basic musical idea of Songs of Eternity comes from a four-note motive that is heard throughout the three connected songs in a variety of moods and musical textures. The four-note motive functions as the source of both unity and contrast in the entire piece. The score of Songs of Eternity is dedicated to Renée Fleming. —Behzad Ranjbaran