Ántonia

"Ántonia" is the second movement of Libby Larsen's song cycle My Ántonia.

The audio recording of "Ántonia" from My Ántonia is made possible through a collaboration between the Hampsong Foundation and SongFest. The performers are Danya Katok, soprano, and Dimitri Dover, piano, and the performance took place at SongFest 2012 at the Colburn School.

Date: 2000Composer: Libby LarsenText: Willa CatherSong Collection: My Ántonia

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    From My Ántonia
    by Willa Cather

    “They can’t any of them speak English,”
    (Said the train conductor to me, the boy Jim)
    “Except one little girl…not much older than you, Jim,
    and she’s bright as a new dollar.
    “She’s got pretty brown eyes, too!”

    (And she did, my Ántonia!
    When I first saw her.) Ántonia came up to me
    and held her hand out coaxingly…
    and soon we were running–together–
    through the fields, laughing

    Ántonia! My Ántonia!
    How many an afternoon (we) trailed along the prairie
    (Laughing, she would point to a tree…)
    “Name? What name?” “Name?”
    (“Tree.” I answered)

    (One evening) we climbed to the roof to watch the clouds…of a…storm
    …one black cloud no bigger than a little boat
    drifted out alone…
    Grandmother (called to us to come down)
    “In a minute we come!” (Ántonia called back)
    “In a minute!”

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