Brian Kogler

Full Fathom Five

12 performance rounds from Shakespeare to Synge

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The sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Britain form a golden age of round-singing; even the nineteenth provided some fine examples. These twelve rounds, set to texts by Shakespeare, Skelton, Swift, Dryden, Johnson, Carroll and Synge, are of varying difficulty and may require rehearsal. Keeping as they do to the style of the period, they offer plenty of movement among the parts. Some have special endings for performance. While intended for experienced voices, they may of course be sung by mixed groups of all ages. The composer explains the concept of “partnered voices” in gaining melodic range.