Working with fine poetry is one of the truly great joys for a composer.  Poets, as you know, are composers too.  They work with words, we composers work with pitches.  Both poets and composers use rhythm, rhyme-scheme, syntax, timbre, texture, and articulation to create our sonic offerings.

The Mind You, Now pieces are settings of poems selected from American poet John Ciardi’s volumes of children’s poetry The Man Who Sang the Sillies and You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You.  One of our nation’s finest poets, John Anthony Ciardi (1916–1986) was born in Boston and taught at Harvard University and Rutgers University.  With over forty volumes of poetry to his name, he was presented with the National Teachers Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children in 1982.  He was editor of the Saturday Review from 1956 to 1972.  His occasional public television broadcasts were supplemented by his weekly National Public Radio series, A Word in Your Ear, that begun in 1980.

Chang McTang McQuarter Catis a playful portrait of a loveable pet who knows how to divide himself into just the right kinds of cat ratios—yowling, scratching, yawning, grinning, and winning his way into our hearts.

It is a great pleasure working with Dr. Barbara Tagg and my wonderful friends in the Syracuse Children’s Choir.  We hope to touch your own silly bones as we sing you John Ciardi’s poetry for the child in all of us.

Libby Larsen

String Quartet Version Purchasing Information:

The full score is available as a printed score.

The set of parts are available as a printed score or PDF download.

Piano Version Purchasing Information:

Mind You, Now I: Mind You, Now is available as a printed score or PDF download.

Mind You, Now II: Summer Day is available as a printed score or PDF download.

Mind You, Now III: Warning is available as a printed score or PDF download.

Mind You, Now IV: Chang McTang McQuartet Cat is available as a printed score or PDF download.