If I Can Sing, I Still am Free
2016 Idaho All-State, 2018 Arkansas All-State selection
“If I Can Sing, I Still Am Free” was the winner of the San Diego choir SACRA/PROFANA’s 2014 composition competition. It’s an ideal piece for festivals and large ensembles, with a text that champions inner strength in the face of adversity. It has quickly become one of Campbell’s most performed works, performed by high school, collegiate, and community & professional ensembles.
Here’s what SACRA/PROFANA director, Krishan Oberoi, had to say about the piece: “We were struck by Rich Campbell’s unconventional approach to Sara Teasdale’s poem, ‘Refuge’. Rich’s setting of the text represents a radical departure from almost all other choral settings of the poem. Campbell eschews an introspective interpretation of the poem (which seems like the natural response to Teasdale’s pensive text), favoring instead a brash, declamatory setting which mirrors the composer’s own contemporary urban environment. The musical language reflects Campbell’s eclectic musical influences, incorporating strains of jazz, musical theater, and balletic composers like Stravinsky in a propulsive union that carries the listener forward to a rousing climax of human affirmation.“
| Descriptive Tags: | Inspiration, Music About Music, Poetry, Singing |
| Difficulty: | Intermediate |
| Season or Event: | Graduation |
| Instrumentation: | Piano |
| Sacred or Secular: | Secular |
| Duration: | 1-5 Minutes |
| Voicing: | SATB |
| Language: | English |
$2.50/copy
This title is available in print or for immediate download. For both options, there is a minimum required quantity of 8 copies for choral titles. Please support self-publishing composers by ordering the quantity according to the number of singers in the ensemble that will perform the work.
Print orders are printed on demand and shipped by our printing partner, and can be expected to be processed within a few days of the order. Please do not hesitate to contact [email protected] to follow up.
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