A Clear Midnight
A setting of the brief yet powerful poem by Walt Whitman (from “Leaves of Grass”). The score takes its cue from the meditative nature of the text. There is a contemplative tone throughout, laced with subtle harmonies and perhaps inspired by the works of Randall Thompson. The score quietly expresses the expansive feeling one gets scanning the night sky. This is a work of medium difficulty, appropriate for high school, collegiate and community choirs.
| Instrumentation: | Piano |
| Difficulty: | Intermediate |
| Descriptive Tags: | Comfort, Inspiration |
| Sacred or Secular: | Secular |
| Voicing: | SATB |
| Duration: | 1-5 Minutes |
| Language: | English |
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| TTBB | 3'15" | English | When I first discovered Charles Bernstein’s beautiful poem, I knew immediately that I wanted to set it for men’s chorus. The poem expresses so much within a brief, 4-verse form. I set out to use harmony to color the text’s rich imagery while honoring the poem’s lyrical and repetitive nature in the melody. The surprising […] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| When I first discovered Charles Bernstein’s beautiful poem, I knew immediately that I wanted to set it for men’s chorus. The poem expresses so much within a brief, 4-verse form. I set out to use harmony to color the text’s rich imagery while honoring the poem’s lyrical and repetitive nature in the melody. The surprising […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SATB | 5' | English | Apple Pie is a novel, fun, upbeat and humorous tale of two friends searching for their favorite dessert. It was the winner of the Wasatch Chorale Ars Nova Composition Competition; their call for scores asked for a piece suitable for an afternoon family concert. With a rollicking piano part moving it along, the chorus tells […] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Apple Pie is a novel, fun, upbeat and humorous tale of two friends searching for their favorite dessert. It was the winner of the Wasatch Chorale Ars Nova Composition Competition; their call for scores asked for a piece suitable for an afternoon family concert. With a rollicking piano part moving it along, the chorus tells […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SATB | 5' | This composition won first prize in the Longfellow Choral Composition Competition in 2011. I have enjoyed Longfellow’s poetry for many years–“Excelsior” in particular. However, I’ve never managed to develop a huge amount of sympathy for the poem’s protagonist. Here we have a youth who ignores the advice of everyone around him that his journey was […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This composition won first prize in the Longfellow Choral Composition Competition in 2011. I have enjoyed Longfellow’s poetry for many years–“Excelsior” in particular. However, I’ve never managed to develop a huge amount of sympathy for the poem’s protagonist. Here we have a youth who ignores the advice of everyone around him that his journey was […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SATB | 4'30" | English | The Metropolitan Transit Authority in New York has a “Poetry in Motion” series that puts posters of poetry in subway cars. I was on the 1 train on Manhattan’s West Side one day when I saw the poem “Heaven,” by Patrick Phillips. I was immediately captured by the simple beauty of Patrick’s poem, and the […] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Metropolitan Transit Authority in New York has a “Poetry in Motion” series that puts posters of poetry in subway cars. I was on the 1 train on Manhattan’s West Side one day when I saw the poem “Heaven,” by Patrick Phillips. I was immediately captured by the simple beauty of Patrick’s poem, and the […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SSA | 3'30" | English | The text for How Can I Keep from Singing was written by members of the Derventio Choir of Allestree, Derbyshire, England, and Steven Paxton’s setting was composed for the competition celebrating that choir’s 30th anniversary. Moderate tempo a cappella sections alternate with fast, rhythmically driving sections mixing 6/8 and 5/8 meters. The piano accompaniment is […] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The text for How Can I Keep from Singing was written by members of the Derventio Choir of Allestree, Derbyshire, England, and Steven Paxton’s setting was composed for the competition celebrating that choir’s 30th anniversary. Moderate tempo a cappella sections alternate with fast, rhythmically driving sections mixing 6/8 and 5/8 meters. The piano accompaniment is […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2' | “It’s a beautiful, wonderful world, A world of wonder for all to share; Let us walk together, hand in hand, Spreading peace and friendship throughout the land…” Inspired by a visit to botanical gardens in California, this song is intended to reflect the beauty of nature around us, and to suggest that we should live […] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| “It’s a beautiful, wonderful world, A world of wonder for all to share; Let us walk together, hand in hand, Spreading peace and friendship throughout the land…” Inspired by a visit to botanical gardens in California, this song is intended to reflect the beauty of nature around us, and to suggest that we should live […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3' 15" | This joyful harvest song may be of particular interest to choral groups within the Jewish tradition, but it may equally prove to be a useful addition to the harvest or thanksgiving repertoire of any choir. The text is taken from World Healing Prayers, with additional text by Linda G Marcus, adapted by the composer. There’s […] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This joyful harvest song may be of particular interest to choral groups within the Jewish tradition, but it may equally prove to be a useful addition to the harvest or thanksgiving repertoire of any choir. The text is taken from World Healing Prayers, with additional text by Linda G Marcus, adapted by the composer. There’s […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SA ⋅ SS | 2' | English | A sweet and evocative, lyrical piece for treble voices and piano, this delicate song is a setting of a list of paint colors by Martha Stewart. The piece is also available in versions for solo voice and piano (baritone or soprano). It can be performed with or without a video/slide presentation of the paint colors. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A sweet and evocative, lyrical piece for treble voices and piano, this delicate song is a setting of a list of paint colors by Martha Stewart. The piece is also available in versions for solo voice and piano (baritone or soprano). It can be performed with or without a video/slide presentation of the paint colors. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| This is a straightforward setting for choir and organ/keyboard of an Appalachian carol found by John Jacob Niles (1892-1980). Niles was an American composer, singer, and collector of traditional ballads. He discovered this carol in Mayfield, Kentucky in 1933. Niles was an important influence on the American folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s, […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TBB ⋅ TTBB | 3' | English | TTB American folksong arrangement | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TTB American folksong arrangement | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||