Fire-Logs (Salem, MA 2001)

The second to be completed of the four songs, Fire-Logs and the next one Haunts are related, not just in harmonic material, but in their odd mood and texture. Additionally, the primary melodic responsibility in Fire-Logs is carried by the women supported and colored by the men, and in Haunts by the men supported and colored by the women. This was a deliberate meta-structure that I placed to help balance off the set of pieces. Something that comes off even worse than usual in the MIDI versions is the sound-effects being done by the men at the beginning and throught the piece. They are supposed to sound clicky and without pitch, very softly crackling in the background.

Here is the text:

Fire-Logs  [By Carl Sandburg, from Leather Leggings in the collection Cornhuskers]

Nancy Hanks dreams by the fire;
Dreams, and the logs sputter;
And the yellow tongues climb.
Red lines like their way in flickers.
Oh, sputter, logs.
    Oh, dream, Nancy.
Time now for a beautiful child.
Time now for a tall man to come.

Again, I would suggest following the Sibelius score so that you have some hope of understanding what text goes with which moment.    

• Fire-Logs -- MP3
• Fire-Logs -- Sibelius Score
• Fire-Logs -- General MIDI file