JOHN B HEDGES

Tea Poems
for piano

XXVII
(2009)

Tea Poems
for piano

Tea Poems is a set of three (so far) meditations on the art of brewing and drinking dierent teas as well as the importance it has had

in my daily life. Begun in the summer of 2008 at Yaddo in Saratoga Springs, I started these pieces as an attempt to make simple,
intimate and personal expressions, in response to the work of writers and visual artists who I was in residence with at the time. The idea
of using a metaphor, such as tea, which figures prominently in my own life, as a starting point for a series of musical poems seemed as
good a place as any for self-exploration.
The first poem, First Pouring, is a description of the proper brewing of a good cup of tea (the tea in my mind was Mao feng, a mellow
green tea I adore). The tea is brought out fresh, put into a warm cup. The water is filled up a third of the way and swirled around, then
finally filled up letting the leaves float and settled to the bottom.
The second, Shifting Tastes of Oolong, is a variation of sorts. I have spent many afternoons drinking oolong with friends in tiny cups
as the taste slowly changes subtly as the time goes. Its a wonderful reminder of how seemingly unimportant repetitive actions are
constantly changing in wonderfully simple ways.
The last of the set, Sharing Ceylon and Cylons, was written the day after I watched the finale of the new Battlestar Galactica with my
wife, Lynn. We had both been moved greatly by this wonderful show, watching every episode with a good cup of black tea with milk.
Few simple memories are as meaningful to me as that one, drinking tea as the crew of Galactica and I both find our home.

I.

First Pouring.............................2

II.

Shifting Tastes of Oolong........................4

III.

Sharing Ceylon & Cylons...............6

Duration is approximately 8

Printed July 2010.

Tea Poems
I. First Pouring
for Ellis Avery

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John B Hedges
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Tea Poems

II. Shifting Tastes of Oolong

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Tea Poems

III. Sharing Ceylon and Cylons

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Other Works by John B Hedges:

ORCHESTRA:

Yma for clarinet and orchestra (2008) c.11

3222 4320 tmp, 2 prc, pno, hp, str

Scirocco Dances for chamber orchestra (2007) c.9

1111 1110 2 prc, cel, hp, str

Rising Heat (2004) c.6

3(3=picc)23(3=bcl)3(3=cbsn) 4331 tmp, 3 prc, pno, hp, str

Three Pieces for Orchestra (2002) c.10

3(3=picc)3(3=eh)3(2+ecl,3=bcl)3(3=cbsn) 43(1+picc)31 tmp, 3 prc, cel, hp, str

Violin Concerto (2001) c.24

2(+piccs)222 2221 tmp, 2 prc, cel, hp, str

Over Yondro for string orchestra (2002) c.11

CHAMBER WORKS:

Piano Quartet November, 2004 (2010) c.20

Fear of Drowning in Land for reed trio (2009) c.8
Clarinet Sonatina Gumbo (2008) c.1430
Sycamore Cottage for flute and piano (2003) c.930
los susurros (2001) c.730
fl, cl, vn, vc, pno

Confide with Sly (1997) c.8

fl, cl, prc, pno, vn, vc, cb

VOCAL:

A Shipwreck Opera in One Act (2006) c.45

libretto by Aimee Bender
1111 0000 prc, cel, hp sop, mez, ten, bar, ATB chorus 10111

On the Good Foot (in memoriam James Brown) for two sopranos and large ensemble (2007) c.630
1111+2 sax(1=alt, 2=ten) 1110 drum kit, pno, 2 sop 11111(elec.)

Vogue au Large for soprano and chamber ensemble (2003) c.9

text from Frederic Coliers A Memoir of Absence
ob, cl, bsn, pno, sop, vn, vla, vc

Information on these or other works is available at www.johnbhedges.com