digy, Barber nevertheless made his mark early. Op.1, “Serenade” for string quartet (later orchestrated for strings), he wrote that piece while attending the Curtis Institute.In his early work, Barber taps into this new lyricism in piece after piece. Good examples include, “Music for a Scene from Shelly”, “Symphony No.1”, first essay for orchestra, cello sonatas, string quartets, the choral “Reincarnations”, and the violin concerto. Barber spent 1942 to 1945 in the United States Army Air Force, fighting with musical forms rather than enemy troops. He was commissioned to write a symphony, his second, which employed radio signals along with the normal instruments. Thoroughly fed up with any remainder of hostilities, he discarded the work after the war apart from his second movement.Postwar, Barber continued going his own way. Some major works of the period are the “Toccata Festiva” for organ and orchestra.Barber was the recipient of numerous awards and prizes including the “American Prix de Rome”, two Pulitzers, and election to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.Barbers songs for solo voice were a big hit to the classical world. For example, of more than one hundred songs, he only published thirty-eight.In 1953, at age 43, he published the “Hermit Songs”. This song cycle is comprised of ten different songs, which are all sung and originally written in English. They are known for their intense piano accompaniment and difficult voice parts. The “Hermit Songs”, were first performed at the Coolidge Auditorium at the Library of Congress, Washington D.C, on October 30, 1953.The first performance featured Leontyne Price, soprano and Samuel Barber on piano. Number five of the ten-song set, I am working on as part of my repertoire this semester. This song is titled “The Cruixifiction”.After having a very successful musical...
