by William Shomos, Director of UNL Opera
In May of 2024 UNL alum Jared Hiscock, guest artists Brandon Bell and Philip Daniel, and I premiered a concert-piece, Song of Myself, at the Salt Creek Song Festival in Ashland, Nebraska. This February we gave it a second performance at UNL and a third “live- recording” performance in Omaha. Our FOO President, Daniel Ikpeama, asked me to share a few words about the piece for our website, which I am honored to do. Song of Myself is a work I strongly believe in and am thrilled to lavish upon it all the attention I can.
Over the years, I’ve taught many songs set to Whitman texts and have enjoyed reading his poetry. Whitman’s long life (1819-1892) spanned our nation’s greatest crisis of division: the Civil War. Whitman wrote graphically about his nursing experience with the wounded and dying. Yet despite the horrors of this national division, the body of Whitman’s poetry is rich in themes of oneness and unity.
About eight years ago I began contemplating the creation of a theatre piece based on Whitman’s poetry. As I considered our nation’s increasing dividedness, I became drawn ever closer to Whitman’s worldview: that each of our personal experiences is absorbed into
a shared experience for all humanity and that all humanity is, in turn, contained within each individual. This is akin to what composer Mathew Aucoin calls Whitman’s fanatical optimism: “Whitman wants his readers to be aware of the blazing sacredness of all things, and [to engage in] the celebration and reconciliation of opposites.” If we embrace this notion, maybe we can start to transcend our differences and move toward unity and
wholeness. Fanatical optimism? Perhaps. But if not that, then what?
Jared Hiscock shares my interest in Whitman. In 2022, he approached me with a proposal to create something for his newly formed song festival. We agreed to co-adapt Whitman’s Song of Myself, reconstructing the text of 1350 lines to about 15% of the original. Jared recommended composer Philip Daniel to provide the musical setting. When I began reading Whitman verses aloud over his music, I was stunned by how beautifully the words landed in Philip’s sonic environment.
Philip’s score is rivetingly emotional, filled with beautiful melodies, and marvelously paced in rhythmic energy and structure. But the music is also a great match for Whitman. Philip’s “orchestra” (an acoustic piano, a felt/prepared piano, a drum machine, and analogue synthesizers) creates a supportive soundscape with a stable uncomplicated chord-
structure over which the voices carry their declamations and melodies. The result is a 21 st century musical analogue to the 19 th century bel canto era opera of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and early Verdi that had such a profound influence on Whitman. The relationship of the “orchestra” to the voice in Philip’s score is grounded on the very same aesthetic of the operatic style that Whitman so loved.
I heartily believe this piece has lasting value. Philip plans to release a recording very soon. Stay tuned!