Andromache's Farewell
Song record peer reviewed by Editorial Board member: Gregory Zavracky| Song Title | Andromache's Farewell (Search) |
| Composer(s): | Samuel Barber |
| Composer Underrepresented Group | LGBTQ+ (Search) |
| Author(s): | Patrick Creagh (after Euripides) |
| Keyword(s) & Features: | Achilles; Addressee: Helen of Troy; Allusion: Iliad; Andromache; Asia; Astyanax; Beds; Birds; Birth; Blame; Carnage; Childbirth; Comfortless; Curses; Death; Death in Combat; Despair; Destruction; Dresses; Dying; Eating; Embraces; Embracing; Falling; Farewell; Fear of Death; First awareness of death; Flesh; God; Graves; Greeks; Hate; Hector; Helen; Hiding; Infanticide; Innocent; Irony; Killing; Lamenting; Malevolence; Metaphor: Fearful Child as Small Bird; Mothers; Mourning; Murder; Nursing; Powerlessness; Princes; Regret; Rocks; Sacrifice; Shame; Shelter; Shields; Ships; Slaughtering; Slavery; Sons; Sorrow; Speaker: Woman/Feminine; Spears; Story; Suffering; Trojan War; Troy; Wars; Weddings; Weeping; Widows; Wings |
| First Line | So you must die, my son (Search) |
| Average Duration | 12:15 (Search) |
| Year of composition | 1963 (Search) |
| Musical Form | Several connected movements (Search) |
| Original Language | English (Search) |
| Score Source | https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/andromache-s-farewell-sheet-music/3153239 |
| Audio Source | https://open.spotify.com/track/6WNt1tyg4ztgdlFV3JIvBz |
| Difficulty Level | Pro (Search) |
| Catalog Designation | Op. 39 (Search) |
| Voice part suggested by composer | Soprano |
| Range: | C4 - Bb5 (Search) |
| Premiered By | Martina Arroyo, soprano; Thomas Schippers, conductor; New York Philharmonic (Search) |
| Commissioned By | New York Philharmonic in celebration of its inaugural season at Lincoln Center (Search) |
| Notes | Text from The Trojan Women by Euripides, in a translation made at the composer’s request by John Patrick Creagh. There is a painting of this scene by Jacques-Louis David: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andromache_Mourning_Hector (Search) |
| Recommended Printed Source | G. Schirmer, #ST45467 (Search) |
| Orchestra and voice? | Yes (Search) |
| Sources Cited | Heyman, B. (2012). Samuel Barber : A thematic catalogue of the complete works. New York: Oxford University Press.; http://paulthomasonwriter.com/samuel-barber-andromaches-farewell/ (Search) |