Three Spells

About

When I first discovered Jackson in Starling Magazine, his poem cycle Three Spells was what completely sold me on his work. The combination of the seldom-used cycle format, as well as the highly lyric form, stood out to me instantly. The poems are almost ‘failed sonnets’, aware of their own place in literary history, cognisant of the failures of poetic expression. Always caressing desire but never fully giving in to it, they oscillate between moments of wit, earnestness, and passion. References to various mythologies are woven throughout — from Pania, to Saint Sebastian, to Frank O’Hara.

With such a masculine quality, I knew the words needed to be set for a male singer. The piano provides a simple, often-arpeggiated accompaniment, acting as a sort of lyre against the solo flute, which echoes and morphs the singer’s melodies. Each movement in the cycle conjures a new affect, acting out the charm of each different ‘spell’. I focused on writing simple melodic refrains, using a cell-like compositional method to create songs which slowly expand through repetitive sequences. Throughout this composition, fragmented pieces of my inspirations are heard — the pseudo-Oriental melodies in the first movement, Time’s town-bells cascading in the second movement’s piano part, or the shimmering spots of moonlight in the third.