The Colour of His Hair
This work received second place in the 2015 Ithaca College Choral Composition Competition. It sets a poem by A. E. Housman which was not published until after his death. In 1895 Oscar Wilde was imprisoned for two years for being a practicing homosexual, a crime in England at that time. Housman’s poem, while seemingly tongue-in-cheek, was written in protest of Wilde’s incarceration and a British court system so arbitary in its justice that a man could conceivably be imprisoned because of “the colour of his hair.”
| Instrumentation: | A Cappella |
| Difficulty: | Advanced Student, Advanced |
| Descriptive Tags: | Humorous |
| Language: | English |
| Sacred or Secular: | Secular |
| Voicing: | SATB, SATBB |
| Duration: | 1-5 Minutes |
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| SATB | 4' | English | This simple Christmas setting resulted from an international collaboration between Brian Holmes of California and Gordon Thornett from the UK. Brian’s poem has been set for mixed voices (SATB) and piano (or organ). The piece describes how the cold of winter is turned into spring by the coming of the Christ Child. Bright was the […] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This simple Christmas setting resulted from an international collaboration between Brian Holmes of California and Gordon Thornett from the UK. Brian’s poem has been set for mixed voices (SATB) and piano (or organ). The piece describes how the cold of winter is turned into spring by the coming of the Christ Child. Bright was the […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SATB ⋅ SSAATTBB | 3'45" | English | Gorgeous Blue Eyes comes from a larger set entitled the Four Wedding Songs which was dedicated as a wedding gift to Stephen and Stacey Squier on the eve of their wedding on July 29th, 2010. The four movements of the work were inspired by the tradition to give a bride “something old, something new, something […] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gorgeous Blue Eyes comes from a larger set entitled the Four Wedding Songs which was dedicated as a wedding gift to Stephen and Stacey Squier on the eve of their wedding on July 29th, 2010. The four movements of the work were inspired by the tradition to give a bride “something old, something new, something […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Equal Voices ⋅ SSAA | Each round 1′30″ to 2′ (in performance) | English | The round is the first tool of any music teacher wishing to develop in children an ability to listen to others while holding an independent line. Rounds also build cohesion among singers, providing opportunities to improve ensemble, sight-reading, articulation and breathing. Here are thirteen original rounds of varying difficulty for Youth Choir: while intended for […] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The round is the first tool of any music teacher wishing to develop in children an ability to listen to others while holding an independent line. Rounds also build cohesion among singers, providing opportunities to improve ensemble, sight-reading, articulation and breathing. Here are thirteen original rounds of varying difficulty for Youth Choir: while intended for […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SATB | 6'30" | English | An exuberant Magnificat is paired with an appropriately reflective Nunc dimittis that together have subtle musical connections. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| An exuberant Magnificat is paired with an appropriately reflective Nunc dimittis that together have subtle musical connections. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SATB | 5' | English | The bass section plays a featured role in this setting of the wistful and evocative poetry of Sadakichi Hartmann. A barcarolle-style accompaniment and layered, drifting harmonies express the themes of ocean waves, drifting ships, and nostalgia for things past. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The bass section plays a featured role in this setting of the wistful and evocative poetry of Sadakichi Hartmann. A barcarolle-style accompaniment and layered, drifting harmonies express the themes of ocean waves, drifting ships, and nostalgia for things past. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SAB | 3:30 | English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| SATB | 7'25" | English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| SATB | 4' 25" | English | One of Newfoundland’s best known folksongs, “She’s Like The Swallow” was first collected by Maud Karpeles in 1930, but certainly dates from well before that, as evidenced by the appearance of several verses in various British laments. The subject of the unfaithful lover is perhaps as old as song itself. “She’s Like the Swallow” is […] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| One of Newfoundland’s best known folksongs, “She’s Like The Swallow” was first collected by Maud Karpeles in 1930, but certainly dates from well before that, as evidenced by the appearance of several verses in various British laments. The subject of the unfaithful lover is perhaps as old as song itself. “She’s Like the Swallow” is […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||