Thou and I Barry D. Truax

Thou and I is based on material from my electroacoustic opera Powers of Two, but in this setting the two singers represent lovers. The opening love duet, a setting of one of 131 stanzas written by Tennyson in memory of his friend, Arthur Hallam, is followed by a tenor solo using a Whitman text from Leaves of Grass which also celebrates male bonding. In the baritone solo, the singer appears to have passed into another realm beyond our reality as expressed by R. M. Rilke, yet longs for his lover, with whom he is reunited in the final duet, based on Rumi’s poem “Thou and I” and Katherine Philips’ ode to a female friend.

  • Year of composition: 2003
  • Genre: Electroacoustics
  • Format: Mixed work
  • Instrumentation: tenor, baritone and 2 soundtracks
  • Software used: PODX system for sound synthesis and composition
  • Duration of the submitted work: 10:00
  • Publisher: Cambridge Street Publishing
  • Premiere: April 5, 2007, Simon Fraser University Theatre

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