The Morning of Life

The composition The Morning of Life began many stages ago in 2005 when I was directing the Sonic Inertia Performance Group concerts at the High Risk Gallery in Chicago. We were to do a concert that featured a vocalist with mixed instrumental combinations. I was and have always been drawn to folk music from various cultures. At the time I believe I was playing Irish tunes on dulcimer for fun and playing a little bodhran (Irish frame drum). We were to perform this concert with a baritone-voice so I set out to put together a medley of Irish tunes from O’Neill’s Music of Ireland and text from a book of Irish poems I owned. This version would be for marimba, pennywhistle, hand drums, and baritone. One of the original tunes used in the medley was entitled The Morning of Life. That version was never performed again and I soon revamped it for flute and marimba. Eventually I edited out some of the tunes from the original medley, leaving two, and embellished the material, got creative with the harmony in places, and have settled on the version (2014) published here. ~M.C.