la Orana, Gauguin - for soprano and piano. soprano and piano. soprano.

The text (by the composer) concerns the life and work of the French painter, Paul Gauguin : his early period when he was full of doubts and uncertainty, his discovery of exotic climes, and his eventual departure from France for a life in the South Seas. References are made to Gauguin's styles of painting and to paintings by him, in particular to a large painting of 1897 entitled "Where Do We Come From ? What Are We ? Where Are We Going ? ", the words of which are fragmented to express that perennial question which remained with him throughout his life.
John Casken Instrumentation : soprano and piano