Although Cajun Set is not based on a narrative, its source material is derived
directly from Cajun folk music. Each movement of this piece is based directly on an
Acadian folk tune and its dance custom.11 In this work, Larsen takes to heart the advice of
Stokes, “What you listen to can’t hurt you!”12 and incorporates the musical sounds and
rhythms of Cajun music in a fresh way.
Both works discussed in this chapter have clear programmatic elements provided
through the evocative titles, the instructions in the score, and the detailed notes that
accompany each piece. Larsen’s goal in these pieces and throughout her career has been
to “present a sound organization as an offering to communicate something about how we
live physically and spiritually.”13 She continues: “I wanted to be a composer because I
love sound. By giving order to sound, a composer reveals some new understanding of
what sound means to us and our lives. Music is a special way of perceiving the world
around us in our quiet, private moments.”14
1 ' Libby Larsen, “Cajun Set,”
http://libbylarsen.com/index.php7productID= 1102<fccontentID=218 (accessed 2 February
2010).
ɪ2 Boyer, 27.
Jeanenne G. B. Bezerra, “The Relationship Between Text and Music in the Works of
Libby Larsen” (MM Thesis, Baylor University, 1999), 6.
ɪ4 Ibid.