ENS.2006.6 | 3′
Lyrics by Saul Wheeler
Soprano & Marimba
I. Arguile
II. Anger Inaction
Although Saul and I had not worked together in some time, over the past several years he had sent me various poems and things he had written for fun, and I chose two of these to set as a kind of gift to him. To emphasize the oddity of the lyrics, I chose a countertenor—a male soprano—to declaim his texts (although it can also be performed by a soprano). Accompanied originally by cellos, I later made a (much better) version for marimba.
When I asked him for titles he came up with “Arguile†and “Anger Inactionâ€. I have no idea what relation they have to the texts or what they even mean. Not that it matters. I’m not even sure “arguile†is a word, though you must have a lot of guile to wear argyle.