ChoralPieces“BeautyComeDancing”“BalletRusse”“ThereWasaNaughtyBoy”“ForaDeadLady”“ThoseWhoLove”AllthesetextsweresetattheSalzburgFestivaltwoyearsagoonmytrusty88–keyCasio.Ihadwrittenthetextto“BeautyComeDancing“attheFestivaldelSolejustbefore.ThedancethememakesitanaturalcompaniontoMasefield’s“BalletRusse.”ThereaballerinadancestoChopinpianoaccompaniment.Iaimedfortuneshemighthavewrittenbutdidn’t.AlthoughMasefield’sverseandminescaniniambicpentameter,Isetbothtowaltzes.Thatcanbetricky.JohnKeatsheadsmypoeticpantheon,withMasefieldaclosesecond.Iwouldchoosethesametwo,inthesameorder,forcomicpoetry.Keats’“ThereWasaNaughtyBoy”isadeliciousexample.E.A.Robinson,likeMasefield,paidnocourttomodernism.”ForaDeadLady”and“ErosTyrannos”buildlikeBachfugues.Nopoetsurpasseshimforcadenceandthelongerbreath.SaraTeasdale’s“ThoseWhoLove”showstheequalpowerofalightertouch.GordonGetty