After November of 2006 I worked steadily on writing songs. It was frustrating as well as fulfilling. I had learned a lot, but still had a long way to go. Just before starting songwriting, I had spent my time composing introits and benedictions for choir. In early to mid-2007 I wrote one short instrumental piece and co-wrote an anthem. In late summer of 2007 I had the opportunity to take a little break from songwriting to write another short instrumental piece. 

A Piece for Alto Saxophone and Piano

I wrote ” . . . a time of innocence” in August and September of 2007 for my husband, Gary Smoke, and Jonathan Noffsinger, professor of saxophone and jazz studies at The University of Alabama. When asked to compose this piece for them, I was grateful for the opportunity to take a break from songwriting. 

It was liberating not to have to search for words to express ideas. Expressing an emotion without being complicated was my goal while writing this piece.

The piece was inspired by section VIII from The Auroras of Autumn by Wallace Stevens. The poem gives one the feeling of longing for a half-remembered innocence . . . a primal innocence, though. It is an innocence basic to the earth and us . . . an innocence “not Less real” though we cannot be sure of its time or place.

The music seeks to evoke a sense of this longing memory of innocence. Phrases are repeated (exactly . . . changed . . . extended . . . shortened)—as if trying to remember. Mid-way there is a sense of firmness—of grasping this memory. In the end, the hesitant memory returns. It is now at peace with its “not Less real” (but half-heard) existence.

About Wallace Stevens

Wallace Stevens (1879-1955) was an American modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania. Stevens attended Harvard University and received all the school’s honors for writing. He was recognized as a prolific and talented writer. From 1901 to 1904 he attended the New York School of Law and worked for several law firms. While in New York, he developed a keen interest in art. He was fond of modern painting, and became a connoisseur and collector of Asian art, including painting, pottery, and jewelry. He admired Asian works for their vivid colors, precision, and clarity—qualities that mark his own writing. 

In 1916 Wallace Stevens began working for the Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company. He was employed there for the rest of his life—becoming vice president in 1934. In 1950 Stevens published his last new poetry collection, The Auroras of Autumn. It won the 1951 National Book Award. His poetry collection, The Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens, was published in 1955. The collection earned him the Pulitzer Prize for poetry and another National Book Award.