Whispers of Heavenly Death

An evening of music by Frank Vulpi.

On Thurday September 3rd, 2009, a poetry reading was hosted by the UNCG dance department. The readings were taken from Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass and were read by R. Mitchell Fore who was accompanied by Frank Vulpi on the piano.

The 12 poems that comprise Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass (1891-92 edition) were read and following each poem, a musical interlude followed. Frank Vulpi, Lecturer and Music Coordinator of the Department of Dance at UNCG, composed and performed pieces reflecting the mood and setting of each poem.

I found the performance to be absolutely astounding. I had not planned on going to the performance, and had it not been for a few friends of mine, I would not have known to have gone at all. In a desperate attempt to take a break from the countless hours of study that are required to do well in school (as I am all too often reminded), I decided to take a ride on this whimsical train to the show. After a quick stop by the box office for our FREE tickets, our cohort made it's way into the Theatre. The theatre with it's dark and shrouded stage wasn't too entirely full despite the decent sized crowd, so we were able to sit in the third row with a clear view of the performers. After a quick introduction of the instrumentalist and the reader, the lights dimmed and the show began.

Through the selected poetry the performance ran. The piano pieces were so relaxing that at times I found myself on the edge of sleep. Yet, at other times, the pieces were so schocking and violent that the whole room seemed to have been thrown into an odd state of panic. The reflection of each poem in the music so perfectly resembled the thoughts and feelings going through my mind during the readings.

All in all, the performance was great and I would reccomend for anyone interested in going to go every chance they get.