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/
Chris Murray 