Title: Can You Hear Me?
Composer/Lyricist: Bob Chilcott
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Catalogue #: BC19
JW Pepper Cat. #: 3183191
Price: $1.70
Duration: 4:40
Voicing: SS/SA
Obligatto: piano
Key: C-major, F-minor, A-flat Major
Tessitura: c-f'
Piano Difficulty: medium difficult
Recording Available: http://musiceducationworld.com/files/Can_you_Hear_Me_-Brighton-Michael_Griffin.mp3
Notes:
As a rule, I am not a very emotional person, and very few songs move me to tears - this is one of them. Not because the song is sad, but because the music and the text are so well wedded to each other - every time I study it, I discover something new. On top of that, the theme is very powerful. The text is written from the perspective of a deaf child explaining his/her point of view to a hearing child. Doing this could very quickly become overly sentimental or condescending, but the composer does a fantastic job of walking that particular tightrope. The sparing use of sign language in the chorus is very effective, and should be included in your own performance. A handy guide is included on the inside cover for those not versed in the details of American (or other) sign language.
By and large, there are very few rhythmic challenges in the piece - no tied rhythms, no strange dotted eighth followed by 3 sixteenths, and then quarter rest tied to a whole note (please note the absurdity). The notable exception is then change from 4/4 time to 3/2. However, this occurs so smoothly that unless you point it out to your choir they'll probably not even notice it or consider it a difficulty. The homophonic writing can be difficult for younger/beginning choirs unless you have figured out a magic way to have your young singers sing in parts (in that case, please e-mail me your secret!). Also, be very careful at m. 53 - it could be very easy for a choir to bark the high f', rather than to make it a wonderfully musical moment. Contrast that with the piano dynamic just two measures later, and the juxtaposition is very moving - this is the emotional climax of the piece.
I say use your best interpretive judgment on this one. The composer has left enough information to give direction, but left enough out for your own choir to make it's own choices and provide their own meaning. That, beyond anything else, is the beauty of this song.
Showing posts with label SA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SA. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Jesus Christ the Apple Tree - Poston
Title: Jesus Christ the Apple Tree
Composer/Lyricist: Elizabeth Poston
Publisher: Banks Music Publications (dist. by Hal Leonard)
Catalogue #: ECS 141 (HL08300514)
JW Pepper Cat. #: 5283163
Price: $2.10 (JW Pepper)
Duration: approx. 3:00
Voicing: unison, SA, SSAA, SATB, piano OR a capella
Obligatto: None
Key: C
Tessitura: Unis: c-g'; S1: c-g', S2: c-a', A1:a-g, A2:G-d; S:c-g', A:c-a', T:C-f, B:C-d
Piano Difficulty: N/A
Recording Available: no known public recording available
Notes: I love this piece for many reasons, not least of all are these two: 1) this piece is incredibly flexible, lending itself to any number of voicing combinations and 2) because it's written in the key of C, even a beginning unison choir can have some degree of success reading it with solfege. For that reason alone, choral educators should love this piece, especially for a middle or high school chorus. Even an elementary chorus can do some rudimentary solfege exploration. The only difficulty can be with so many skips and so little stepwise motion - it can be a bit frustrating if singers do not have much experience singing skips. Also, because the melody hangs quite a bit on the ti-do pitch pattern, it may have a tendancy to go flat. Energetic singing is a must to keep this piece in tune!
The song has no meter, so I say feel free to be as interpretive (read: rubato) as you like - personally, I suggest keeping a feeling of plainchange and letting the singers take control of the temp once they havce sufficiently mastered and internalized the music. There are some internal indications of where to take breaths and pause for effect (dotted quarter notes, breath marks, double bar lines), but it is left to the conductor to determine other places to do so, or to ignore them entirely - e.g. at m 20 there is a double bar line, but no comma in the text to support breaking up the phrase. Only the half cadence in the music hints at it, but it is not the text itself that does so.
All in all, "Jesus Christ the Apple Tree" is a fantastic teaching tool, as well as a remarkably flexible and beautiful piece of music. What a melody line reminiscent of Appalahia, this is a surefire winner for any choral ensemble.
Composer/Lyricist: Elizabeth Poston
Publisher: Banks Music Publications (dist. by Hal Leonard)
Catalogue #: ECS 141 (HL08300514)
JW Pepper Cat. #: 5283163
Price: $2.10 (JW Pepper)
Duration: approx. 3:00
Voicing: unison, SA, SSAA, SATB, piano OR a capella
Obligatto: None
Key: C
Tessitura: Unis: c-g'; S1: c-g', S2: c-a', A1:a-g, A2:G-d; S:c-g', A:c-a', T:C-f, B:C-d
Piano Difficulty: N/A
Recording Available: no known public recording available
Notes: I love this piece for many reasons, not least of all are these two: 1) this piece is incredibly flexible, lending itself to any number of voicing combinations and 2) because it's written in the key of C, even a beginning unison choir can have some degree of success reading it with solfege. For that reason alone, choral educators should love this piece, especially for a middle or high school chorus. Even an elementary chorus can do some rudimentary solfege exploration. The only difficulty can be with so many skips and so little stepwise motion - it can be a bit frustrating if singers do not have much experience singing skips. Also, because the melody hangs quite a bit on the ti-do pitch pattern, it may have a tendancy to go flat. Energetic singing is a must to keep this piece in tune!
The song has no meter, so I say feel free to be as interpretive (read: rubato) as you like - personally, I suggest keeping a feeling of plainchange and letting the singers take control of the temp once they havce sufficiently mastered and internalized the music. There are some internal indications of where to take breaths and pause for effect (dotted quarter notes, breath marks, double bar lines), but it is left to the conductor to determine other places to do so, or to ignore them entirely - e.g. at m 20 there is a double bar line, but no comma in the text to support breaking up the phrase. Only the half cadence in the music hints at it, but it is not the text itself that does so.
All in all, "Jesus Christ the Apple Tree" is a fantastic teaching tool, as well as a remarkably flexible and beautiful piece of music. What a melody line reminiscent of Appalahia, this is a surefire winner for any choral ensemble.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
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!
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!
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