When I read novels I often encounter lyrics within the story, printed in italics. An example might be like this from Animal Farm by George Orwell:

In its place Minimus, the poet, had composed another song which began:
Animal Farm, Animal Farm,
Never through me shalt thou come to harm!
and this was sung every Sunday morning with the hoisting of the flag.

However, there is never any music to go with these songs. So I make up little melodies sub-vocally, although they don’t sound like traditional melodies at all and rarely fit with the imagined sound world of the story. Song (in) Books is an attempt to bring this process to life.

The prose score for this piece exists as an email sent to Kirkos Ensemble on November 16th 2022. It was first performed on November 18th 2022 at Unit 44 in Dublin as part of ICC Salon.

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Performances
18 November 2022, Unit 44, Dublin
21 March 2026, Stone Nest, London

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Score