1996
Peonies at Dusk
Composed by 
William Bolcom
William Bolcom Text by 
Jane Kenyon
Jane Kenyon Briefly It Enters Song Collection
"Peonies at Dusk" is the eighth song of William Bolcom's song cycle Briefly It Enters, which sets nine poems of Jane Kenyon.
The audio recordings from Briefly It Enters are made possible through a collaboration between the Hampsong Foundation and SongFest. The performers are the 2012 SongFest Sorel Fellow Rachel Schutz, soprano, and Tomasz Lis, piano, and the performance took place at SongFest 2012 at The Colburn School.
Text
Peonies at Dusk
by Jane Kenyon
White peonies blooming along the porch
send out light
while the rest of the yard grows dim.
Outrageous flowers as big as human
heads! They’re staggered
by their own luxuriance: I had
to prop them up with stakes and twine.
The moist air intensifies their scent,
and the moon moves around the barn
to find out what it’s coming from.
In the darkening June evening
I draw a blossom near, and bending close
search it as a woman searches
a loved one’s face.
Related Information
SongFest Website
songfest.usThe Sorel Organization
sorelmusic.org/festivals.htmVideo
Audio
“Peonies at Dusk” (from “Briefly It Enters”)
Rachel Schutz (soprano) & Tomasz Lis (piano)2:21
Sheet Music
Briefly It Enters
William Bolcom
1. Who
2. The Clearing
3. Otherwise
4. February: Thinking of Flowers
5. Twilight: After Haying Text: Jane Kenyon6. Man Eating
7. The Sick Wife
8. Peonies at Dusk
9. Briefly It Enters, and Briefly Speaks
2. The Clearing
3. Otherwise
4. February: Thinking of Flowers
5. Twilight: After Haying Text: Jane Kenyon6. Man Eating
7. The Sick Wife
8. Peonies at Dusk
9. Briefly It Enters, and Briefly Speaks