Work
Sibling Rivalry
for medium voice and piano
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About
As the title of the cycle suggests, these are all settings of poems about brothers and sisters: the frustrations, the annoyances, the strange behaviour and so on.
All the poems are by American poet Jack Prelutsky whose poems I've set on a number of occasions beginning with The Dragons are Singing Tonight in 1996. His children's poetry is widely anthologized and highly regarded for its quirky and humorous views on life.
Each poem describes a small aspect of being a brother or a sister. The first simply describes a brother who likes to doodle,everywhere! In the second poem there's the heart-felt frustration of a child who is no longer the centre of attention due to the arrival of a younger sister. The third poem describes the building of a robot and the chaos that ensues. In the fourth poem the poet plays on the idea of the word 'orange' being both a thing and a colour. The final poem tells of a pet bug, a harmless creature which met an unfortunate fate.
The songs are written with young singers in mind. They are tuneful, avoid extremes of range and intervals, and have relatively straightforward accompaniments.
Difficulty note
Suitable for young singers
Contents note
5 songs:
1. My Brother is a Doodler
2. Life's not been the Same in my Family
3. My Brother built a Robot
4. My Sister ate an Orange
5. My Brother 's Bug
Text note
Text by Jack Prelutsky