Dr. Vera Ivanova, Composer
Vera Ivanova,
composer

'...internationally recognized as an emerging artist of great talent.'

Campus Times (University of Rochester/Eastman)

Kak u oblaka (As if on the rim of a cloud)

female voice and piano (2011)

"Kak u oblaka," is a setting of Anna Akhmatova's poem ("As if on the rim of a cloud") in original language of the poem - Russian. The poem is about love, and the music reflects the dreamy atmosphere and unresolved feelings.

Program Notes:
"As if on the rim of cloud" is an opening poem of the "Cinque,"
one of the three of Anna Akhmatova's post-World War II cycles
(the other two are "The Wild Rose Blooms" and "Midnight
Verses").

In his book "Anna Akhmatova. Her Poetry" David N. Wells
describes Akhmatova's love poems as being "dominated by the
physical absence of the figure of the beloved. At the same time,
however, they preserve the memory of the beloved on a much
broader and more permanent plane that in the early verse, and
commemorate the lasting emotional transformation which the
heroine has undergone through the experience of love."
The song was commissioned and premiered by the 2011
Staunton Music Festival.

Instrumentation
mezzo-soprano (or soprano) and piano
Duration
c. 3-4 minutes
Premiere
August 2011, commissioned and premiered at the Staunton Music Festival
Text
Anna Akhmatova
Language
Russian
Audio Samples
Kak u oblaka - poem recited in Russian (for singers)
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Kak u oblaka - recording by Kristina Driskill and Mark Robson
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Score Sample
Kak u oblaka: version for mezzo
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Click here to contact composer about this piece.

Performances:

June 1st, 2015
Kak u oblaka (As if on the rim of a cloud), female voice and piano (2011) - Alexandra Sirota and Dmitry Kaprin
The Moscow Central School of Music (Moscow, Russia)
September 12th, 2014
Kak u oblaka (As if on the rim of a cloud), female voice and piano (2011) - Kristina Driskill
"Kak u oblaka" is performed as part of Synchromy's Re:lanch concert.
May 10th, 2013
Kak u oblaka (As if on the rim of a cloud), female voice and piano (2011)
Hope Central Church (Jamaica Plain, MA)
November 19th, 2012
Kak u oblaka (As if on the rim of a cloud), female voice and piano (2011)
Four Drinking Songs, art songs (2011)
Moscow Autumn International Festival (Moscow, Russia)
April 18th, 2012
Kak u oblaka (As if on the rim of a cloud), female voice and piano (2011) - Kristina Driskill
Four Drinking Songs, art songs (2011) - Jonathan Mack
Three Summer Songs, SSAA choir a cappella (divisi) (2011) - Chapman University Women's Choir
World Premiere
August 23rd, 2011
Kak u oblaka (As if on the rim of a cloud), female voice and piano (2011)
Four Drinking Songs, art songs (2011)
The Walrus and The Carpenter, art song (2011)
Staunton, VA
Featured as Emerging Composer at the Staunton Music Festival