At the cry of the first bird
As is often the case with my work, this music seemed to naturally grow out of the text—a haunting medieval poem about the death of Jesus Christ. The poem’s enigmatic symbolism and otherworldly affect resulted in what was for me an unusually mysterious and ethereal composition. Some of the inspiration for the work came from Renaissance sources, such as Tudor composers William Byrd and Thomas Tallis. Some of their work, though certainly “ethereal,” contains dissonances that are almost as brash as some of those that I have used here. Another source of inspiration was the prospect of a performance by The Kinge’s Quire, a small ensemble that focuses on Renaissance music and therefore sings with great clarity and minimal vibrato. With that type of choral sound in mind as I composed, I felt unusually free to concoct unusual sonorities and dissonant combinations of notes that I knew such an ensemble could bring to life in a special way.
| Duration: | 1-5 Minutes |
| Voicing: | SATB |
| Language: | English |
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| SAB | 2' | English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| SATB ⋅ SATB+SATB | 3' | English | A 17th-century riddle poem, “I Saw a Peacock With a Fiery Tail” at first seems fantastical: A peacock with a fiery tail! I saw a comet drop down hail! Full of evocative text painting, this choral setting reveals the sense of the poem by dividing each line between the two choirs and then reordering the […] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A 17th-century riddle poem, “I Saw a Peacock With a Fiery Tail” at first seems fantastical: A peacock with a fiery tail! I saw a comet drop down hail! Full of evocative text painting, this choral setting reveals the sense of the poem by dividing each line between the two choirs and then reordering the […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SAB | 1'57" | English | I Sing of a Maiden (I syng of a mayden) is a Middle English poem or carol of the 15th century celebrating the Annunciation and the Virgin Birth of Jesus. The poem is written from a first person point of view, and contains five quatrains. No evidence of original music is known to exist, though […] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I Sing of a Maiden (I syng of a mayden) is a Middle English poem or carol of the 15th century celebrating the Annunciation and the Virgin Birth of Jesus. The poem is written from a first person point of view, and contains five quatrains. No evidence of original music is known to exist, though […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SSA | 5'15" | English ⋅ Latin ⋅ Other | Set in three languages (Spanish, English, and Latin), each iteration takes a slightly different style for the message of Psalm 18 (19): “The ordinances of the Lord are right…” | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Set in three languages (Spanish, English, and Latin), each iteration takes a slightly different style for the message of Psalm 18 (19): “The ordinances of the Lord are right…” | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SATB | 4' | English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| SATB | 3'00" | English | Based on a traditional text and a melody I learned from Skate Stone, which he learned from James Harding, which he learned from an unknown source. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Based on a traditional text and a melody I learned from Skate Stone, which he learned from James Harding, which he learned from an unknown source. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SATB | 3'30" | English | A lyrical carol for SATB choir, this Christmas piece imagines sunrise on the first Christmas morning. “O Gift of Glorious Sunrise” was premiered in Buffalo, NY in December 2015 by the Vocalis Chamber Choir (James Burritt conducting). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A lyrical carol for SATB choir, this Christmas piece imagines sunrise on the first Christmas morning. “O Gift of Glorious Sunrise” was premiered in Buffalo, NY in December 2015 by the Vocalis Chamber Choir (James Burritt conducting). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TTBB | 3'45" | English | This piece was written while walking through the Mission District of San Francisco on a rainy evening. California has been experiencing a serious drought these past few years. I was thrilled to feel the raindrops, hence the celebratory feeling of the piece. — Mark Growden Also available in SATB and SSAA versions. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This piece was written while walking through the Mission District of San Francisco on a rainy evening. California has been experiencing a serious drought these past few years. I was thrilled to feel the raindrops, hence the celebratory feeling of the piece. — Mark Growden Also available in SATB and SSAA versions. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TBB ⋅ TTBB | 3' | English | TTB American folksong arrangement | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TTB American folksong arrangement | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3'30" | Nearly every December, Christmas sneaks up on me far too quickly, busy as I am with end-of-semester grading and final exams. I’m an admittedly nostalgic guy who unabashedly loves Christmas music, and every year I think to myself ‘I really should have written a Christmas piece this year’. Christmas 2015 followed a similar pattern, except […] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nearly every December, Christmas sneaks up on me far too quickly, busy as I am with end-of-semester grading and final exams. I’m an admittedly nostalgic guy who unabashedly loves Christmas music, and every year I think to myself ‘I really should have written a Christmas piece this year’. Christmas 2015 followed a similar pattern, except […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||