Choral Reviews Dr. Diane Orlofsky

It is my honor to serve as AMEA Choral Music Reviewer for the Ala Breve. It is my hope that there will be “something for everyone” in this column and that together, we will explore the incredible richness of choral literature that offers many teaching moments and programming options.

Siúil a Rúin

Michael McGlynn(1964—)

Text: English and Gaelic

Mixed Voice Choir, a cappella; mezzosoprano solo

Publisher: www.michaelmcglynn.com

Michael McGlynn, the Artistic Director of ANUNA, offers a wide range of choral settings (many have been performed over the years by ANUNA) on his website and Siúil a Rúin is onesuch example. It is one of the most widely known folk songs in the Irish repertoire. The text dates back to the Glorious Revolution (1688) and the war between England, Ireland, and Scotland. Irish men enlisted to overthrow the rule of the British over Ireland and were called “Wild Geese.” This folk song, in particular, is a lament for a lover who has joined the Wild Geese. In this arrangement, the choir creates a melancholy atmosphere while the soloist(s) sing(s) the traditional melody. Michael shared some of his thoughts with me in a recent conversation: “Our culture in its indigenous form has no polyphony, only the melodic line and I try not to alter the melodic line at all…the priority is the transmission of the text… Siúil is such an appealing story, like many of the songs I set from the tradition. I aim to carry the story forward to a new generation…”

Each verse (sung by the soloist) is in English, but the refrain (harmonized by the choir) always appears in Gaelic. The Gaelic title literally translates to “go/walk, my love.” Michael sets the piece in 12/8 (dotted quarter = 105), which helps to propel the lyric melody and text stress. Sample pdfs and an audio performance of this piece are available on his website in addition to the IPA and audio pronunciation. This piece would serve as a very accessible introduction to traditional Irish music and will leave both your choir and audience wanting more!

Siúil, Siúil, Siúil a Rúin. Siúil go sochair agus siúil go ciúin Siúil go doras agus ealái liom Go, go, go my love

Go quietly and go peacefully Go to the door and fly with me

If you are looking to program a unique pairing, combining Siúil a Rúin with the Parker/Shaw arrangement of Johnny has Gone for a Soldier works well (Alfred). Similarly constructed (soprano solo, SATB), Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier is most likely an American adaptation of Siúil a Rúin. The text is known by other names (Buttermilk Hill and Shule Agra), and each one has slight text variations. This American adaptation became popular during the American Revolutionary War and features a woman’s lament for a soldier going off to war.

The Nightingale (the first of Two Colonial Folksongs) arr. Dan Forrest SATB, with piano four-hands and optional violin Hinshaw Music

I was pleased to see Dan Forrest’s The Nightingale in a reading packet at the ALACDA summer conference. Nightingale is an American folk song that, like many, is a variant of a European folk song. This piece is a derivative of the English song “the Bold Grenadier”. The haunting tune, based on the pentatonic scale, can be found in Sharp and Karpeles’ “80 Appalachian Folks Songs” and the text dates back to 17th century England. This particular arrangement was commissioned by the Williamsburg Choral Guild and is part of an on-going project of Forrest to set pieces from every region of the United States. The lilting folk - tune is passed between women and men as the story is told about young love and the imminent departure of a soldier to war. The harmonically –rich climax (“the tune that he played caused the valleys to ring…”) is guaranteed to move singer and audience alike. Nightingale is rich in programming possibilities and serves to introduce students to an example of our country’s rich folk tradition.

Batter My Heart, Three-Personed God

Richard Nance

Text- Holy Sonnet 14, John Donne (15721631) SATB, a cappella Colla Voce Music (Series Editor, Jo-Michael Scheibe)

When I heard this piece performed at the National ACDA Conference, Salt Lake City (February 2015) the very first phrase (“Batter my Heart, Three-Personed God”) quite literally took my breath away. Richard Nance has taken a provocative and personal text from John Donne and masterfully set it, giving careful attention to its power while exploring the imagery.

The early years of John Donne (like St. Augustine) were filled with wine, women and debauchery; his subsequent journey of repentance and regeneration led him to become a cleric and metaphysical poet in his later years. According to Frederick Rut, the poet Donne explored themes of mortality, divine judgment, divine love, penance, and personal anxieties. Here Donne shows the “paradox of regeneration, asking God to batter his heart in order to mend it” (Entangled Voices: Genre and the Religious Construction of the Self, Oxford University Press, p. 41).

The plea to “batter my heart, three-personed God” is set with alternating meters, both at the beginning and when this plea returns at the end of the song. I appreciate Nance’s care with setting the evocative text and his musical reflection of Donne’s inner turmoil and regret through both key changes (five total for the piece), dynamic and textural shifts, and wellplaced but sparing use of split voicing (SSATTBB). I particularly think Nance’s use of rests (after words like “knock”, “breathe”, “break”, “blow” is another tool to get the listener to pay attention to the power of the regenerative journey and his alternation between homophony (such as in the “divorce me” and “ravish me” sections) and the linear treatment of the plea “take me to You, imprison me” is terrific word painting treatment. This piece would work well for any advanced choir (originally commissioned by the Coral Gables Congregational Church Chancel Choir and Dr. Schiebe).

Dr. Diane Orlofsky is Professor of Music and Director of Choirs at Troy University, where she oversees the choral program and teaches undergraduate and graduate classes in music education. She is the conductor of the Troy University Concert Chorale and the Director of the Troy University vocal jazz ensemble, frequency.