Resounding Verse
Join music theorist Stephen Rodgers as he explores how composers transform words into songs. Each episode discusses one poem and one musical setting of it. The music is diverse—covering a variety of styles and time periods, and focusing on composers from underrepresented groups—and the tone is accessible and personal. If you love poetry and song, no matter your background and expertise, this show is for you. Episodes are 20-40 minutes long and air every couple of months.
Resounding Verse
Latest Episodes
Die gute Nacht, die ich dir sage (The Good Night That I Bid You): Friedrich Rückert and Clara Schumann
In Friedrich Rückert’s “Die gute Nacht, die ich dir sage,” two people separated at night exchange greetings through an angel who travels between them. In this episode, I explore Clara Schumann’s 1841 setting of the poem and the ways her music g...
Evensong: Constance Morgan and Liza Lehmann
Constance Morgan’s “Evensong” is a quiet nighttime poem in which a speaker asks the angels to fold their wings around her and “hush me to sleep.” But sleep in the poem carries a darker meaning. In this episode, I explore Liza Lehmann’s 1916 set...
They bore him barefaced on the bier: William Shakespeare and Cheryl Frances-Hoad
In Act 4, Scene 5 of Hamlet, the grieving Ophelia moves in and out of song, singing fragments about death and loss. In this episode, I explore Cheryl Frances-Hoad’s setting of one of t...
hyacinth, songs of the minotaur, no. 5: Duncan McFarlane and Cecilia Livingston
The Minotaur is a half man/half bull from Greek mythology that is often viewed as a monster. Cecilia Livingston and Duncan McFarlane's song cycle hyacinth reimagines the Minotaur as a lonely child, imprisoned because of the way he look...
Das Blatt im Buche (The Leaf in the Book): Anastasius Grün and Pauline Decker
This episode explores the first song in a cycle I assembled from stand-alone songs by Pauline Decker—using curation as a form of advocacy. It features a world-premiere recording of the song by tenor
