"Judith Cloud's songs are expressive and beautifully crafted for the voice, and they continue to attract singers who happily program and perform them."

Dr. Carol Kimball, Journal of Singing

 
BOTANY FOR THE GODS - poetry by Janet Joyner (2016)

Soprano & piano 

  1. Cassandra
  2. Botany for the Gods
  3. Rain Song (Homage to Paul Verlaine)
  4. Decoherence as My Way Out of the Quantum Mechanics of Underpants
  5. In a Goolagong Bog
  6. Lift Off

- composed for Christine Graham


BLACK DAY, BRIGHT - poetry by Louise Labé, translation by Willis Barnstone (2013)

Contralto & piano (6'21")

  1. Sonnet XIV  Although I Cry (3'54")
  2. Sonnet XV  To Honor the Return of Sparkling Sun (2'27")

- composed for Rehanna Thelwell

BlackDayBrightDay.mp3


I SPILL MY SOUL - poetry by E.E. Cummings (2009)

Soprano & piano

  1. Thy fingers make early flowers of all things (2'05")
  2. this is the garden; colors come and go, (5'30")
  3. (sitting in a tree--) (1'40")
  4. O Thou to whom the musical white spring (2'17")

Thy fingers make early flowers of all things.mp3

this is the gardencolours come and go.mp3

(sitting in a tree-).mp3

O thou to whom the musical white spring.mp3


COWBOY DREAMS - traditional texts (2013)

Tenor or high baritone & piano (8'15")

  1. The Cowboy's Dream (3'30")
  2. The Pecos Stream (2'35")
  3. The Big Corral (2'10)

Cowboy Dreams.mp3


ASSORTED SONGS- English

Voice & piano  (high, medium and low keys)

  1. You are tired, I think (poetry by E. E. Cummings) 2015
  2. Didn't you hear my Lord when He called (traditional) 2014
  3. Perplexed music (poetry by Elizabeth Barrett Browning) 2013
  4. Someone should start laughing (poetry by Hafiz) 2013
  5. Alleluia (traditional) 2013
  6. Absences (poetry by Philip Larkin) 1973
  7. The Salley Gardens (poetry by William Butler Yeats) 1982
  8. Suzanne (words and music by Leonard Cohen in an art song arrangement) 2012
  9. Hotel Garden--poetry by Carl Tomlinson 1982

You Are Tired, I think.mp3

Didn't You Hear My Lord When He Called.mp3

Suzanne (Leonard Cohen_arr. Cloud).mp3


FOUR SONGS OF THE THE HEART- poetry by Kathleen Raine (2009)

Mezzo-soprano & piano (12')

  1. Lament
  2. Nocturn
  3. Purify
  4. The Healing Spring

Purify.mp3


FOUR SONNETS BY PABLO NERUDA, SET 1- poetry in the English translations by Stephen Tapscott (2006)

Soprano or Mezzo-soprano & piano (12')

  1. Sonnet XVII: from Manana (Morning) I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz
  2. Sonnet XLV: from Mediodia (Afternoon) Don't go far off, not even for a day
  3. Sonnet LVII: Tarde (Evening) They're liars, those who say I lost the moon
  4. Sonnet LXXXIX: from Noche (Night) When I die, I want your hands on my eyes

- commissioned by Arlene Shrut

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose or topaz.mp3


FOUR SONNETS BY PABLO NERUDA, SET 2- poetry in the English translations by Stephen Tapscott (2008)

Soprano or mezzo-soprano & piano (14')

  1. Sonnet VIII: from Manana (Morning) If your eyes were not the color of the moon
  2. Sonnet XXXV: from Mediodia (Afternoon) Your hand flew from my eyes into the day
  3. Sonnet LXX: Tarde (Evening) Maybe—though I do not bleed—I am wounded
  4. Sonnet LXXXI: from Noche (Night) And now you’re mine. Rest with your dream into my dream

- commissioned by Eileen Strempel and Sylvie Beaudette


1f Your Eyes Were Not The Color Of The Moon.mp3

QUATRE MÉLODIES DE RONSARD- poetry by Ronsard (2007)

Baritone or mezzo-soprano & piano (11')

  1. Quand je te vois, seule…
  2. Bonjour, mon coeur
  3. À sa guitare
  4. Je suis homme, né pour mourir

- dedicated to Carol Kimball

Bonjour, Mon Coeur.mp3


NIGHT DREAMS- poetry by Margaret Atwood (2006)

Soprano or mezzo-soprano & piano (17')

  1. Night Poem
  2. Siren Song
  3. Variations on the Word Sleep
  4. Flying Inside Your Own Body

- commissioned by Eileen Strempel and Sylvie Beaudette


AWAKE ON A SPRING NIGHT- poetry by Betty Andrews (1994)

Soprano or mezzo-soprano & piano (12')

  1. When I Was Young
  2. The Time Comes
  3. New Grass
  4. Awake On A Spring Night
  5. The Shape of Laughter

When I was young.mp3

New Grass.mp3


THE SECRET HISTORY OF WATER- poetry by Silvia Curbelo (2003)

Soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor or baritone & piano 

  1. The Blackbirds Take Over the Sky (3'56")
  2. The Secret History of Water (4'40")
  3. The Death of the Tango (4'03")
  4. The Lake Has Swallowed the Whole Sky (4'37")
  5. Drinking Song (3'54")
  6. For All The Goodbyes (4'37")
  7. Dreaming Horse (2'15")
  8. The Room Was A Pond (4'04")
  9. I’m in love, I’m floating (3'25")
  10. Last Call (5'10")
  11. Janis Joplin (3'24")
  12. Some nights you crank up the car radio and just drive (5'08")
  13. The Simple Geography of Leaving (4'26")
  14. Spontaneous Human Combustion (2'20")

The Blackbirds take over the sky.mp3

The Death of the Tango.mp3

The lake has swallowed the whole sky.mp3


THREE SONGS FOR BASS-BARITONE- poetry by Thomas Carew, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and anon. (2012)

Bass-baritone & piano (12')

  1. Celia Singing (5'30")
  2. Song and Music (4'15")
  3. A Short History of Medicine (2'00")

- composed for Toby Kidd


TRES CANÇÕES- Portuguese poetry by Cassiano Ricardo, João Cabral de Melo Neto & Vinicíus de Morales (2006)

Tenor or soprano & piano (8')

  1. Canto Da Juriti
  2. Poema
  3. Soneto De Separaçao

- Composed for Ricardo Pereira

Três Cançoes_ O Canto Da Juriti.mp3

Três Cançoes_ Poema.mp3

Três Cançoes_ Soneto De Separaçao.mp3


DE AMOR OSCURO- Spanish poetry by Federico Alarcón (2004)

Tenor or soprano & piano (5')

  1. Me diste una canasta de manzanas
  2. Desde que conoci en el camino

- Composed for Ricardo Pereira

09 De Amor Oscuro_ Me Diste Una Canasta De Manzanas.mp3

10 De Amor Oscuro_ Desde Que Te Conoscí En El Camino.mp3