Setting of Two Poems by Sara Teasdale is written of two poems by well-known and widely appreciated by many composers poetess Sara Teasdale. The poems are elegiac in character as they follow the seasons of winter and spring.
With Fairy Snow (I) first came the music, and then the text by Sara Teasdale, which coincided not only rhythmically with the piece, but also with the character of the music, anticipating the spring’s spirit of self-sacrificial love.
Once I discovered for myself Sara Teasdale, I thought that her poetry was ideal for setting to music, and I continued this cycle with Fifth Avenue in April (II), which sets her “May Day” from “Rivers to the Sea” (1915). This time the text came first, and naturally, it meant to be performed after Fairy Snow, just as spring follows winter. In this final movement, the music pays tribute to Barbershop style and should be performed with a little bit of a "swing," depicting the atmosphere of New York of the 1920-1930s.

Setting of Two Poems by Sara Teasdale is written of two poems by well-known and widely appreciated by many composers poetess Sara Teasdale. The poems are elegiac in character as they follow the seasons