Poets - All
With 150 art songs in her compositional output, Gena Branscombe set the words of famous and not-so-famous poets to music. Her mother's poetry became song and her own poems set to music were dedicated to her mother and her daughters. One often wonders why a specific poem catches the attention of a composer. When reading a poem that touches their inner feelings, does a melody form in their mind? Maybe the poet approached the composer with their own works suggesting a collaboration. Whatever Gena Branscombe felt about the poems she set, her songs beautifully imbue the words with melody, complex harmony and quivering emotion that grasps not only the performers but the audience as well. The poets must have been pleased. As a young ambitious music student, Canadian Katherine Hale (1878-1956) foresaw herself on the operatic stage with a career that took her around the world to perform in all the major opera houses. Her singing career tra...