"Jeffrey Snider" <snide76258@a...> wrote:
"Jeffrey Snider" <snide76258@a...> wrote:
> Don't write your own text. You've spent years training as a
> composer and probably none as an author/poet. If you're worried
> about copyright/royalty issues, set some public domain texts.
> Shakespeare, Blake, the Bible. It will better than what you can
> do, I promise.
Dear Jeffrey,
I smiled reading many of these suggestions - I think many of us have
had the experiences you are trying to spare others :-)
Still, I felt the prohibition of writing one's own text is perhaps
too broad. As a composer myself and singer who has pretty much
specialized in premieres, I'd be sad if all composers heeded this
advice. While it's unlikely that a composer will be able to match
Shakespeare, it is also unlikely that a great poet will be able to
match a composer's sentiment as well as the composer herself. That
doesn't necessarily mean the *crafting of the text* will be as good,
but some composers also happen to be pretty good poets as well.
Part of being a decent artist is knowing one's own limitations - when
to ask for help, when not to. I happen to know that I personally
should *never* write my own text ;-)
Tako Oda
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