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Charles Anthony Silvestri

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Charles Anthony Silvestri
Born1965 (age 58–59)
Las Vegas, Nevada
OccupationPoet, lyricist, historian
LanguageEnglish
NationalityAmerican
Alma materLoyola Marymount University (BA)
University of Southern California (PhD)
SubjectMedieval European history
Notable worksSleep (2000)
Website
www.charlesanthonysilvestri.com

Charles Anthony "Tony" Silvestri (born 1965)[1] is an American poet and lyricist, and a lecturer in history at Washburn University.[2][3][4][5]

Early life and education

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Silvestri was born in Las Vegas in 1965. He studied ancient and medieval history at Loyola Marymount University and has a PhD from the University of Southern California, where his doctoral dissertation was a critical edition of some of the writing of medieval English theologian William of Ware.[3][6]

Lyrics and poetry

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He has provided lyrics for several works by choral composer Eric Whitacre. In 2000, he translated into Latin a short poem attributed to Edward Esch, to form the words of Whitacre's Lux Aurumque.[7] Also in 2000, Whitacre had written music to the words of Robert Frost's poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" and had been "crushed" when the copyright owners forbade this use. He commissioned Silvestri to write new words for the music, which he described as "an enormous task, because I was asking him to not only write a poem that had the exact structure of the Frost, but that would even incorporate key words from "Stopping", like 'sleep'".[8] This work, Sleep, was sung by the second iteration of Whitacre's Virtual Choir, has been widely performed, and has been used by grief counselors, especially those working with bereaved children and in conjunction with artist Anne Horjus's 2013 picture-book edition.[9][10]

Silvestri's wife Julie died from ovarian cancer in 2005 aged 36. A group of poems he wrote about their relationship, her death, and his grief, together with three poems by her and two by Whitacre, form the words of Whitacre's 2018 The Sacred Veil.[11][12][13]

Silvestri wrote the libretto for Whitacre's 2001 Leonardo Dreams of his Flying Machine, based on extracts from Leonardo's notebooks.[14][15] This too was published as a picture-book with illustrations by Anne Horjus.[10]

Silvestri has also worked with Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo, writing lyrics for his works including Dreamweaver (based on Draumkvedet),[16][17] Tundra,[18] and Across the Vast Eternal Sky.[19][20]

In 2019, Silvestri published A Silver Thread, a collection of his poetry written over 20 years.

Selected publications

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  • Silvestri, Charles Anthony (2019). A silver thread : the lyric poetry of Charles Anthony Silvestri. Chicago: GIA. ISBN 978-1622773541.
  • Silvestri, Charles Anthony; Horjus, Anne (2013). Sleep. Lawrence, KS: Acroterion Books. ISBN 978-1480354029.
  • Silvestri, Charles Anthony; Horjus, Anne (2020). Leonardo dreams of his flying machine. Lawrence, KS: Acroterion. ISBN 9781540068804.

References

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  1. ^ "Charles Anthony Silvestri (b1965)". Hyperion Records. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  2. ^ "Faculty Profile: Tony Silvestri". www.washburn.edu. Washburn University. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Charles Anthony Silvestri". GIA Publications. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  4. ^ "Charles Anthony Silvestri". AGO Seattle 2022. American Guild of Organists. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  5. ^ "Longer Biography". Tony Silvestri. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  6. ^ Silvestri, Charles Anthony (1995). William of Ware's "Quaestiones in IV libros Sententiarum" 2, q. 9: "Utrum repugnet alicui creature, inquantum creata est, fuisse ab eterno" (ca. 1300) (PhD). University of Southern California.
  7. ^ "Lux Aurumque – Music Catalog". Eric Whitacre. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  8. ^ "Sleep – Music Catalog". Eric Whitacre. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  9. ^ Whitacre, Eric; Silvestri, Charles Anthony. "On the 15th anniversary of Sleep". Sleep: 15th Anniversary Edition. Jo-Michael Scheibe Choral Series. p. 2.
  10. ^ a b "Picture books". Anne Horjus. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  11. ^ "The Sacred Veil". Tony Silvestri. Retrieved 17 June 2022. Includes full text of the poems
  12. ^ "The Sacred Veil – Music Catalog". Eric Whitacre. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  13. ^ Gordon, Eric A. (22 February 2019). "'The Sacred Veil' opens hearts to the poignancy of death and loss". People's World. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  14. ^ "Guest Blog: Charles Anthony Silvestri on 'Leonardo Dreams of his Flying Machine'". Eric Whitacre. 3 May 2008. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  15. ^ "Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine – Music Catalog". Eric Whitacre. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  16. ^ "Dreamweaver". Ola Gjeilo. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  17. ^ "Dreamweaver". www.esplanade.com. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  18. ^ "Tundra". Ola Gjeilo. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  19. ^ "Across the Vast, Eternal Sky". Ola Gjeilo. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  20. ^ "Silvestri and Gjeilo Add a Twist to the Phoenix Story". Behind the Music. 28 March 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
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