The Birds' Lullaby
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A beautiful setting of Canadian Aboriginal poet E. Pauline Johnson's The Birds' Lullaby featuring lush and lilting melodies intertwined with moments of aleatory (bird whistles and echoed or 'out-of-time' melodic lines) creating a gentle and at-times dreamy texture.
Conductor's Note: "This is a very effective piece that sets, in supple and gentle style the image of birds falling asleep at the end of a long day. The basic melody has great word stress, and the tessitura is perfect for a gentle, balanced sound. This original work is moderately challenging in that aleatoric elements need to be carefully explained and temporarily removed while the voices anchoring the melody with conventional notation build confidence. There are frequent, subtle changes to melodic lines (EG: major and minor versions of the same fragment) that require attention. While well laid-out and ultimately providing all the information I needed, the structure of the score is at first daunting. It was only after I found landmarks and worked to get a different energy level in the three verses that the structure took shape and the piece lifted off the page. It was worth the work!" - Morna Edmundson, Elektra Women's Choir (more) |
Duration
5'
Year of composition
2016
Voicing(s)/ensemble
SSAA
Licensing
Purchase/view score
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This arrangement was commissioned by Myriad (formerly Arcady Women's Chamber Choir), Artistic Director Elise Naccarato, and premiered on June 10, 2016, at Central Presbyterian Chuch in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.