Luigi Dallapiccola’s Sicut Umbra (“Like a Shadow”) is a twelve-tone cantata for mezzo‑soprano and twelve instruments, set to poems by Juan Ramón Jiménez and composed in 1970. It unfolds as a single continuous span of approximately 10 minutes, presenting a sequence of five tableaux that reflect the text’s imagery of transience and reflection.

Dallapiccola’s precise orchestration allows the mezzo‑soprano’s line to emerge clearly, with each instrumental group providing distinct timbral commentary on the vocal narrative. Stylistically, Sicut Umbra integrates Dallapiccola’s mature serial technique with modal and lyrical inflections to heighten the poetic text. The composer employs contrapuntal layering and careful dynamic shading, creating an austere yet sensuous sound world in which instrumental gestures echo and expand upon the mezzo‑soprano’s declamation without resorting to overt dramatization.