A Small Italic Seed

By Lesley Dill on WED, MAY 28TH 2008, NOON

Letters of inspiration to Daniel Hughes, music director for Divide Light and director of The Choral Project (TCP) from Lesley Dill

"This is a blossom of the brain a small italic seed" E. D.

Dear Daniel and TCP,

I so look forward to seeing and hearing you in a few days.

As we make our way through the music of Divide Light (TCP, operatic voice, and Del Sol string quartet), the projected videos and the performative costumes, keep in mind that this opera of light is similar to a river of sound. As you sing through it, perhaps water — streaming, running, trickling, meandering or roaring — is an apt metaphor for your vocal chords. At the end, we have a waterfall ending in a still pool.

Also, in Dickinson's language there are many, many references to nature, to flowers - she had a huge flower garden. It sometimes seems in reading the poetry, that the underlying truth of her speaking to the emotional, existential human-being life, is this truth of the unfolding and truth of natural growth.

Budding, blossoming, dissolution. Flowers and leaves both begin their lives as tiny organisms that uncurl, unfold, that reach for the light. The bloom slowly moves through stages, revealing different colors and shapes. It ultimately falls apart, strewing its petals on the ground. From bud, to blossom, to disintegration — each stage has its own time of fulfillment and recession — each instant is potential for an exquisite awareness.

See you soon,
Lesley