Good-Night at the Door (2026)

for soprano and piano (12min)

By all accounts, the English poet Charlotte Mary Mew led a life marked by sorrow and personal tragedy – three of her brothers passed away in her childhood, while two of her other siblings were committed to mental asylums later in life. Because of this family history, she and her remaining sister Anne refused to have children, as they were afraid of passing on what they thought was a hereditary form of mental illness. Mew’s homosexuality also put her at odds with the societal norms of England at the time, a stigma that probably had significant personal resonance for her as her advances toward other women were rejected throughout her life. All of these experiences flowed into her heartfelt poetry, which is suffused with a profound sense of longing and loss. This cycle sets four poems by Mew that respond to loss in different, sometimes enigmatic contexts – Fin de Fête, From a Window, The Cenotaph and A Quoi bon Dire. Loss manifests itself here through a myriad of layered emotions and impulses: grief, nostalgia, resignation, defiance, indignation, and even hope. The cycle thus mediates on the complexity of experiences surrounding loss, a deeply personal, and yet universal experience.

The songs are dedicated to the memory of my grandfather.

— Tan Tiag Yi

Please contact me for a perusal copy of the score.