Work Information
Thea Musgrave : Sing to Celebrate Summer
| Commissioned by the Buck Hill-Skytop Music Festival, 2010, and fgirst performed on August 6th at the Skytop Lodge, Skytop, PA, by Dan Snyder (tenor) and Annabelle Taubl (harp). |
| Publisher |
Novello & Co Ltd |
Category |
Solo Voice(s) and up to 6 players |
| Year Composed |
2010 |
Duration |
4 Minutes |
| Orchestration |
Tenor; hp; SATB (optional audience participation) |
Availability |
Sale from Musicroom or Music Dispatch Explain this... |
Programme Note
This work was written to celebrate the official opening of the upper path to the Falls
at Buck Hill, for the new Buck Hill-Skytop Music Festival. The sound of its two
spectacular waterfalls is represented by the music written for the harp, which also
imitates the singing of birds described in the poem by Geoffrey Chaucer:
Now welcome Summer with thy sunnë soft,
That hast this winter’s weathers overshake,
And driven away the longë nightës black.
Saint Valentine, that art full high aloft,
Thus singen smallë fowlës for thy sake:
Now welcome Summer with thy sunnë soft,
That hast this winter’s weathers overshake.
Well have they cause for to gladden oft,
Since each of them recovered hath his make.
Full blissful may they singe when they wake:
Now welcome Summer with thy sunnë soft,
That hast this winter’s weathers overshake,
And driven away the longë nightës black!
from The Parliament of Fowls
Geoffrey Chaucer (1343? - 1400)
Performance Note:
It is suggested that immediately before the performance of this song the tenor soloist
should “teach” the audience what they are to sing. (A glimpse of the score will show
that it is quite simple!) At figure 5 the tenor should sing the short motif which he
repeats while they sing with him. They then repeat it twice more while he sings a
descant. At figure 11, the same thing happens. At figure 19, the audience sings the
motif after the tenor as before, but with a slightly different ending.
Before the performance, the tenor might also ask the harpist to demonstrate the
following effects:
the two waterfalls: e.g. Upper Fall at figure 6, and Lower Fall (played an
octave lower) at figure 12.
the birds: e.g. from figure 15, bars 110-114.]]>
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