‘nocturne for voices one and two’ performed lyric fm

My poem Nocturne for Voices One and Two – excerpted below this note, was first published in the book Gold Friend (Turas Press, 2020). Una Lee produced the poem in her album Songs to stay awake to in 2020. Una Lee’s interpretation of the poem is featured in How The World Begins- Irish Women In Sound and Music – Episode 2 – by Elizabeth Hilliard for RTE Lyric FM.

online url: How The World Begins Again – Irish Women in Sound and Music – Episode 2

In the new RTÉ lyric fm radio and podcast series How the World Begins Again, singer Elizabeth Hilliard meets twenty women: composers and sound artists connected to the island of Ireland.

They share their stories, their inspirations, creativity and challenges as they connect the listener to their work. Episode two of How the World Begins Again features Una Lee, sound artist performing “Nocturne for Voices One and Two” by Chris Murray. The Nocturne was published in the book “Gold Friend” (Turas Press, 2020).

Una Lee’s project Songs to stay awake to can be downloaded here.

Elizabeth Hilliard’s Website


The full text of the poem ‘Nocturne for Voices One and Two’ follows

						
Voice One
				
Sea pummels shore,
wind and reed knock trees, winter trees’ wooded music is not green-sapped,
						
But yet, yet but, and alone. The moon is all?				
Soul whispers reed (...)
Soul troubles the wing,
soul gathers in the dewy morning and the heart it ties to.
						
Quiet!
Voice Two
					
Moon is not all, while the restive sea and you separate.					
Silence, quiet.					
Quiet, peace!
Voice One
					
And sleep now?					
For, bird skims dark waters bird skims silver streams	
streams encroach on the bay  stream sieves the sand
And sleep now –				
In silence, peaceably.
The moon is all It lights a trail.
Voice One
					
It is with the voice of longing that you speak, 
close your eyes that mock the moon.	
Close your eyes that tremble on the reed,
close your eyes that discern the wing,
not distance,
not distance from –
						
Voice Two
					
Separated      separating (...)
Voice One and Voice Two		
		
We do not in our bodies meet

Voice Two	
				
The moon is all. It is an emptiness.					
The moon is all, the moon is all – –
Voice One	
			
And sleep, and dream with?
Or a wisp of memory to wake a nothing from cold sun,								
What now, sleep? Not grieve.

Voice Two	
				
Quiet!
Soul whispers reed (...)
Soul troubles the wing,
soul gathers in the dewy morning and the heart it ties to.
						
Quiet!


Voices One and Two
Moon is grey, a ship,
the bay —					
Silver-stream of thistle, of reed, tumble of mountain.
						
To dream with you, to dream with you.
						
again-she-sleeps.

Quiet, peace!

Copyright Chris Murray, 2020, 2021



First published Gold Friend, Turas Press, 2020.

Online URL https://turaspress.ie/shop/gold-friend-by-chris-murray/

This poem was produced by Una Lee for Songs to stay awake to Online Url Bandcamp download link https://unalee.bandcamp.com/

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