the sense of senses (2021) 8'
text by David Lang (after Song of Songs)
SSAATTBB
co-commissioned by the Company of Music, Vienna, Johannes Hiemetsberger, Director; the Crossing, Philadelphia, Donald Nally, Director; and the Fisher Center at Bard College
program note
the sense of senses is one in a series of pieces I have been writing over the past several years, in which I have applied different literary filters to the text of the biblical ‘Song of Songs.’ The idea behind this series is that if we look at the text from many different angles it may eventually begin to reveal more of its emotional and spiritual powers.
What makes the ‘Song of Songs’ stand out from other Biblical texts is, of course, its intense sensuality. One way the text makes us the feel the spark between the lovers – which is, after all, a metaphor for the spark between believers and God – is the heightened use of language that places us in the middle of the action. It tells the story by constantly triggering our senses. The lovers see the vines and vineyards, they smell the frankincense and myrrh, they taste the honey and the wine. Our connection to the story is deepened because the details are described to us in ways that we, ourselves, can imagine seeing, and smelling, and tasting.
I wanted to catalog all the senses in the text, so I filtered out everything except that which is seen, heard, smelled, felt and tasted, and I kept these in the order in which the story mentions them. I removed characteristics or parts of the body that would gender who is speaking, and then I rearranged the order of the senses, so that all of the seen things would be together, all the heard things, all the felt things, etc. I then ordered the senses from far to near – from sight to sound to smell to feeling to taste – so that we might feel the power of the senses grow and intensify, as they come closer to us.
Libretto
the sense of senses
words by david lang
(after the song of songs)
I can see a door
I can see a wall
I can see a wall
I can see companions
I can see in you
I can see Jerusalem
I can see Lebanon
I can see my dove
I can see that
I can see the bed
I can see the coals
I can see the company
I can see the crown
I can see the doves
I can see the field
I can see the flowers
I can see the fountain
I can see the foxes
I can see the fruit
I can see the fruits
I can see the garden
I can see the garden
I can see the garden
I can see the gold
I can see the green
I can see the hair
I can see the horses
I can see the jealousy
I can see the jewels
I can see the joints
I can see the lions
I can see the marble
I can see the morning
I can see the mountains
I can see the pillars
I can see the pillars
I can see the roe
I can see the rose
I can see the studs
I can see the sun
I can see the swords
I can see the tents
I can see the thousand
I can see the top
I can see the vine
I can see the vineyard
I can see the vineyard
I can see the vineyard
I can see the vineyards
I can see the waters
I can see threescore
I can see Tirzah
I can see virgins
I can see you
I can hear her
I can hear the birds
I can hear you
I can smell the apples
I can smell the bed
I can smell the beds
I can smell the calamus
I can smell the camphire
I can smell the camphire
I can smell the frankincense
I can smell the garments
I can smell the lilies
I can smell the mandrakes
I can smell the myrrh
I can smell the myrrh
I can smell the myrrh
I can smell the myrrh
I can smell the myrrh
I can smell the ointments
I can smell the spices
I can smell the spices
I can smell the spikenard
I can smell the spikenard
I can smell the tender grape
I can smell the wheat
I can smell your good ointments
I can feel the banner
I can feel the day
I can feel the day
I can feel the desire
I can feel the dew
I can feel the fear
I can feel the north wind
I can feel the seal
I can feel the seal
I can feel the shade
I can feel the shadows
I can feel the shadows
I can feel the south wind
I can feel you
I can taste the apples
I can taste the best wine
I can taste the fruit
I can taste the honey
I can taste the honeycomb
I can taste the honeycomb
I can taste the liquor
I can taste the pleasant fruits
I can taste the pleasant fruits
I can taste the pomegranates
I can taste the spiced wine
I can taste the wine
I can taste the wine
I can taste the wine
I can taste you
I can taste you
I can taste your kiss
I can taste your kiss
I can taste your lips
I can taste your lip
I can taste your mouth
I can taste your mouth
I can taste your wine