Spring - Dan Powers

Title: Spring
Composer/Lyricist: Daniel Powers/Gerard Manley Hopkins
Publisher: Santa Barbara Music Press
Catalogue #: SBMP 612
JW Pepper Cat. #: 10017056
Price: $1.60 (as of 8/6/09)
Duration: approx. 3:20
Voicing: SA, piano
Obligatto: None
Key: G
Tessitura: S: c - g', A: b-f'
Piano Difficulty: Med. High
Recording Available: http://sbmp.com/SBMP-MP3/Misc/SBMP%20612.mp3


Notes: A highly lyrical and reflective song, very effective for choirs who enjoy an "artsy" song with some complex rhythms, changing meter (3/4 - 4/4). Almost all of the meter changes, however, are negotiated by the conductor and pianist - the only one that the choirs needs to worry about is at m. 39.


Rhythmic challenge comes at mm. 19 - 27 with a mixture of eighth notes and triplet eighth notes, reversed dotted rhythms (eighth notes followed by dotted quarter) and eighth rest followed by an eighth note. For advanced middle school choirs, and high school and adult choirs, this should not be a problem. The only other area of potential rhythmic difficulty is at m. 39 - again the meter change and a 3 eighth note pick-up to measure 40.


The first half (mm. 1 - 51) of the song is unison choir, with the second half being an interplay of true 2-part singing (mm. 52 - 61, 67 - 71, and 84-92) and quasi-canonic singing (mm. 61- 65, and 72-77). The melody can be quite challenging and will defy most attempts to solfege it - unless you have a choir that is sufficiently skilled at chromatic solfege and can handle modulations unmarked with a key change). Formally, the composer has skillfully woven the main theme of "Spring" throughout the piece - first hinted at by the piano in mm 6-8, then fully stated by the choir in mm. 12-17. The piano at turns evokes images of butterflys and fragrance floating in the breeze on a warm summer day, or thunderstorms striking with a sudden ferocity and fading away into the distance. Needless to say, a highly skilled and musically sensitive pianist will be needed for a fully sensitive performance. Since the piece is highly interpretive, "keeping time" is simply not an option!


This piece is sure to delight a mature choir - the text is very challenging, as is the melody. Beware of many uncommon skips and sudden shifts of tonality. However, the overall effect is stunning and this piece should be an immediate addition to your libraries!