The Animals
for baritone and piano
1. Rooster Hubris
My master is the sun. He has appointed
me to tell him you are well.
He has asked me to tell him you are up.
Shall I? Shall I? What if today I wait
to hear you sing? Because I, the rooster,
have risen, now your spirit mounts the day.
I am the hero of warfare
and a true hero of the erotic.
I sing the sounds found in no book.
I am the cock-a-doodle-do.
I am a force of nature, an industrious lover.
I am the song of life.
I am, I am, I am, and I do. Listen for me. Oh,
listen to me. I do not listen to you.
I do not listen to you.
Written during the summer of 2009, The Animals is a cycle of nine songs written and dedicated to Stephen Swanson, who premiered them in
October of that year. Poet Marvin Bell created the texts specifically for this cycle. The work not only takes inspiration from the Ravel
and Poulenc animal songs, but is also rooted in the American tradition: Gershwin's Tin Pan Alley, and more recently the songs of
William Bolcom.