Coney Island
“Coney Island,” was written by Pulitzer prize winning American poet Sara Teasdale (1884-1933) and was first published in 1911 in the collection “Helen of Troy and Other Poems.”. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, she lived for many years in New York City. My immigrant great-grandparents settled in Brooklyn, New York, in the 1890’s, and lived near Coney Island’s world-famous amusement park during its heyday. Growing up in New York, I have joyful memories of Coney Island’s beach and boardwalk attractions. The wintry, bleak landscape of Teasdale’s poem contrasts sharply with my sunny memories. This intrigued me. Structurally, the poem is in two sections, and the musical composition follows this form. Two melodic fragments are heard in the opening measures of the soprano part and immediately inverted or “mirrored” by the basses. The first fragment, built on seconds, develops in various ways and returns in triplets in the second half. The other fragment, written in larger intervals, reappears, augmented, in the bass section, then in counterpoint near the end. Teasdale’s poem is often described as “haunting,” a mood I hoped to convey.
| Descriptive Tags: | Love, Poetry |
| Season or Event: | General, Winter |
| Difficulty: | Advanced |
| Instrumentation: | A Cappella |
| Sacred or Secular: | Secular |
| Voicing: | SATB |
| Language: | English |
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| Beautiful morning song from the California Missions in a simple arrangement, from solo voice to SATB. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| This original anthem is suitable for all occasions and offers a gentle, contemporary setting of the text used by Anton Bruckner in his well-known composition of the same name composed in 1869. “This place was made by God, a priceless sacrament; it is without reproach.” Genesis 28:16 Exodus 3:5. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Neapolitan Carol evokes the starry night in Bethlehem, as three travelers from afar arrive to pay homage to the newborn child. Sung in the original Neapolitan, the arrangement also includes an optional English text by the composer. At a glance: SATB • piano • c. 2’15” Difficulty: easy-moderate For HS, university, community choirs Neapolitan pronunciation […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Rosa mystica is a sacred devotional cantata combining various texts in which a rose or flower is used as an analogy for the Blessed Virgin Mary, including the Rosa Mystica tradition, and Mary as the stem of the rose from which, arising out of the root of Jesse, grew Jesus, the Spotless Rose. In three […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| The familiar words, “It came upon a midnight clear”, are set to a lively tune, with piano accompaniment, and a simple refrain is added, with the words “Deo, Deo, Gloria in excelsis Deo” (“Glory to God in the highest”). Written with women’s voices in mind, it could also be tackled by a good children’s choir. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| “To Soar” was premiered on June 3 and 9, 2018 in New York City by Accord Treble Choir, directed by Liz Geisewite. A live recording appears on Accord’s 2019 album Celestial & Terrestrial. I chose this poem by Walt Whitman to fit the theme of Accord’s June 2018 concert program “On Wings.” The piece squeezes […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||