Category: Vocal Music / Art Song
Instrumentation: voice, piano
Duration: 3 minutes
Text / Source: Words by Nuala O’Connor
Publisher: North Star Music

Dedicated to Nuala O’Connor and to all who have suffered the sorrow of miscarriage.

Foetal, Miscarriage and Dream is a deeply tender art song setting words by Nuala O’Connor. The song traces the closeness between a mother and the child she is carrying, then turns toward the grief and shock of loss.

The work closes with a dreamlike vision in which the baby is taken to heaven by the Virgin Mary, offering a moment of spiritual consolation after sorrow. Intimate and compassionate, Foetal, Miscarriage and Dream reflects Baxter’s sensitivity to text, emotional nuance, and lyrical expression in the face of profound personal grief.

This song calls for great delicacy, restraint, and emotional honesty. It is well suited for art song programs exploring motherhood, grief, faith, loss, and remembrance, and should be performed with careful attention to the vulnerability of the text.