Heidi Barthel

Soprano and Piano

(2010) 4:00

The Fallow Deer at the Lonely House is about the contrast between the needy and satisfied. The needy (the deer) is leading a lonely existence. The deer looks into a house where the satisfied are sitting by a warm hearth where they are completely oblivious to the deer's problems. This setting of the poem tries to express the lonely existence that people who have fulfilling lives may be oblivious to. In this piece, you will hear soprano voice singing by itself suggesting loneliness, the piano playing figures that give the image of falling and sparkling snow, and an overall feeling of angst as the piece progresses.

The Fallow Deer at the Lonely House

by Thomas Hardy (1840–1928)

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One without looks in to-night

Through the curtain-chink

From the sheet of glistening white;

One without looks in to-night

As we sit and think

By the fender-brink.

We do not discern those eyes

Watching in the snow;

Lit by lamps of rosy dyes

We do not discern those eyes

Wondering, aglow,

Fourfooted, tiptoe.