This group of six songs for mezzo-soprano, piano, and cello began with Rainer Maria Rilke's poem 'Liebeslied' and grew into a cycle of songs about mature love, music, nature, and flowers. The piece was commissioned by Hella Mears Hueg and presented to her husband Bill Hueg for his 70th birthday in 1994.

The title song, from a poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, opens the group, and is followed by an English translation of Rilke's 'Liebeslied,' scored simply for mezzo-soprano and cello, as if in conversation. 'Do you know' is another translated love poem by Rilke. 'White world' is accompanied by piano alone, played entirely on white keys. Completing this cycle are Shelley's 'Music, when soft voices die' and another Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem, 'Go from me,' both of which trace a mature, loving relationship between two people.

- Libby Larsen