Beckett’s ‘Rockaby’ Set by William Osborne

For singing actress and tape of voice, four trombones and piano; text of Samuel Beckett.  (25 minutes)  Premiere: Staatstheater Kassel, April 25, 1986        

In Rockaby we hear the whispered thoughts of an old woman during the last twenty-five minutes of her life accompanied by the dirge of four distant trombones.  “Those arms at last…”

Abbie Conant, actress, singer, all four trombones

Pierre Oser, piano

The recording was made in the studio of Orchester Graunke in Munich in 1985 in a late night session when we were allowed to use the studio during its off hours.  (This was long before digital recording. We have what might be a better quality recording on a 15 inch/second tape, but we need to find a machine that can play it, so check back later to see if we’ve updated the streaming recording.) — William Osborne, composer/director

‘Rockaby’ by Samuel Beckett, set by William Osborne from William Osborne on Vimeo.