New Jersey Symphony: Neruda Songs and Poulencs Gloria
About This Event
The New Jersey Symphony appears at NJPAC with a program pairing song settings of Pablo Neruda’s poetry alongside Francis Poulenc’s Gloria. Neruda’s texts, awarded the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature, have been frequently set by composers who favor direct diction; Poulenc’s Gloria situates his sacred-music work within a wider output that includes opera and chamber pieces.
About Neruda Songs(song)
Peter Lieberson’s *Neruda Songs* is a five-part song cycle for mezzo-soprano and orchestra, built from poems by Chilean writer and diplomat Pablo Neruda. Written for the composer’s wife, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, the work treats love as lived experience rather than literary pose, letting the voice move in and out of the orchestra’s changing light. It has circulated widely in New York’s classical ecosystem since its early-2000s arrival, even when not billed as a formal “NYC premiere.” Now heard live at NJPAC with the New Jersey Symphony, it sits naturally beside Francis Poulenc’s French song lineage.
About the Artists
New Jersey Symphony
The New Jersey Symphony is a professional orchestra based in New Jersey, known for performing a wide range of classical and contemporary music.
Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda is a Chilean poet, diplomat, and political figure whose writing has long crossed into the concert hall. His texts, honored with the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature, have been set by composers and performed locally in the New York area, including at NJPAC with the New Jersey Symphony in programs pairing “Neruda Songs” with Francis Poulenc’s *Gloria*.
Francis Poulenc
Francis Poulenc, a luminary in the realm of classical music, captivates audiences with his evocative compositions that span operas, ballets, and orchestral works. With a rich legacy that includes celebrated pieces like "Dialogues des Carmélites" and "Les biches," Poulenc's music is a staple in the classical repertoire.