Choral Music Reviews Rest


Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) Text: Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) SSATB, unaccompanied (with piano re- hearsal part) Publisher: ECS Publishing (1.2478) Approximate performance time: (ca. 3’30”) YouTube performance (Bob Cole Conserva- tory, Cal State University Long Beach Uni- versity Choir, Olga Spriggs, Conductor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT6VI OV_m88)


Ralph Vaughan Williams masterfully sets this Christina Rossetti religious sonnet with the delicate simplicity of a folk song and the reverence of a motet. While death is never specifically mentioned in the piece, it is alluded to as a long sleep or rest. The narrator doesn’t appear to be particularly sad about the death but speaks with a calm assurance that life is eternal and her rest is blessed. Vaughan Williams does a remarkable job of subtly text painting by carefully controlling texture, strategically placing unexpected non- harmonic tones, and delicately balancing sound and silence. This is a jewel in the repertoire that deserves to be heard! O Earth, lie heavily upon her eyes;


Seal her sweet eyes weary of watching, Earth; Lie close around her; leave no room for mirth


With its harsh laughter, nor for sound of sighs. She hath no questions, she hath no replies,


Hush’d in and curtained with a blessed dearth Of all that irked her from the hour of birth; With stillness that is almost Paradise.


Darkness more clear than noonday holdeth her, Silence more musical than any song; Even her very heart has ceased to stir: Until the morning of Eternity


Her rest shall not begin nor end, but be;


And when she wakes she will not think it long. *********


Songs and Sonnets George Shearing (1919-2011) Text: William Shakespeare (1564? – 1616) SATB, piano and double bass (optional) Publisher: Hindon Publications, HMB 226 (bass part, 226-a) Approximate performance time: 17’30” (YouTube performance: University of North Texas University Singers, Richard Sparks, Conductor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl5gfa 4cjdA)


Looking for something lighthearted and ala breve


whimsical to pair with Renaissance madrigals? Look no further than George Shearing’s adaptations of Shakespearean texts, Songs and Sonnets. Born blind and the youngest of nine children, Sir George Shearing received his only formal music education at the Linden Lodge School for the Blind. Shearing went on to become one of the world’s most influential jazz composers and pianists, composing over 300 songs (including the jazz standard, The Lullaby of Birdland). Shearing’s solos often drew on the music of Satie, Delius, and Debussy for inspiration. His affinity for writing choral music remained throughout the later years of his career and captivated the likes of John Rutter, who composed his Birthday Madrigals in 1995 to honor and celebrate Shearing’s 75th


birthday.


Some of the Shakespearean texts Shearing chose for this work are familiar and others are merely whimsical and work well with his “tongue-in-cheek” jazz harmonizations. Others are lovely gems that are simply and masterfully set by this multi-faceted musician. This work can be performed as a mini- masterwork or the pieces can be performed as separate compositions. Either way, the variety, whimsy, and accessibility of these pieces are bound to please both the singers and the audience.


I. Live with me and be my love


(from Sonnets to Sundry Notes of Music)


II. When daffodils begin to peer


(from The Winter’s Tale, Act IV, scene ii) III. It was a lover and his lass


(from As You Like It, Act V, scene iii) IV. When daisies pied (from


Love’s Labour’s Lost, Act V, scene ii) V. Who is Silvia? (from Two


Gentlemen of Verona, Act IV, scene ii) VI. Fie on (from The Merry


Wives of Windsor, Act V, scene ii) VII. Hey ho, the wind and the rain


(fromTwelfth Night, Act V, scene i *********


Love’s as Warm as Tears Paul Mealor (b. 1975) Text: C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) Unaccompanied SATB (with moments of SSAATTBB); piano reduction Baritone solo Publisher: Novello & Company Approximate performance time: 4’30” (YouTube performance: Aberdeen Chamber Choir, James Jordan, Conductor


Diane D. Orlofsky, Ph.D.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvGN x5Vl9DE


I must admit – I am an unabashed fan of the works of composer Paul Mealor. Informally known as the “royal conductor,” Mealor continues to write music that is redefining the choral palette. Every note has a purpose; every pause an opportunity for the listener to dwell on what came before. In my opinion, he maximizes the interplay of voices, acoustics, and text in a refreshing way.


Utilizing the text of C. S. Lewis, Mealor employs a variety of tone colors and moods to represent the multidimensional nature of human and divine love. The Special Service Choir of Westminster Abbey first performed this piece on November 13, 2013 during a service dedicated to the memory of Lewis. It is not until the baritone solo toward the end of the piece that Lewis reveals what he believes to be the ultimate expression of sacrificial love (the death of Christ). Love’s as warm as tears, Love is tears:


Pressure within the brain, Tension at the throat, Deluge, Weeks of rain, Haystacks afloat,


Featureless seas between hedges where once was green. Love’s as fierce as fire, Love is fire:


All sorts infernal heat clinkered with greed and pride,


Lyric desire Sharp-sweet, Laughing, Ev’n when denied,


And that empyreal flame whence all loves came. Love’s as fresh as spring, Love is spring. Love’s as hard as nails, Love is nails:


Blunt, Thick, Hammered through the medial nerves of One Who,


Having made us, Knew the thing He had done, Seeing (with all that is) Our cross, And His. Love’s as warm as tears, Love is tears. *********


Dr. Diane Orlofsky is Professor of Music and Director of Choirs at Troy University, where she oversees the choral program and teaches undergraduate and graduate classes in music education. She is the conductor of the Troy University Concert Chorale and the Director of the Troy University vocal jazz ensemble, frequency.


31


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48