Description
Twitcher for narrator, clarinet and piano is a work in four short movements based on birds; the duck, the turkey, the cuckoo and the ostrich. The text is taken from Ogden Nash’s book of poems, Animals. The music in each movement describes the sound, the movement and the character of each bird. The name “Twitcher” is another name for a bird watcher.
The Duck
Behold the Duck. It does not cluck
A cluck it lacks; it quacks.
It is especially fond of puddle or pond
When it dines or sups, it’s bottoms up.
The Turkey
There is nothing more perky than a masculine turkey
When he struts, he struts, with no ifs or buts
When his face gets apoplectic his harem gets hectic.
And when he gobbles, their universe wobbles.
The Cuckoo
Cuckoo’s lead Bohemian lives
They fail husbands and wives.
Therefor they cynically disparage
Everybody else’s marriage.
The Ostrich
The ostrich roams the great Sahara
It’s mouth is wide
It’s neck is narra.
It has such long and lofty legs
I’m glad it sits to lay it’s legs.
