philips Vertue SATB and Organ
EP 7990
JULIAN PHILIPS
Vertue SATB and Organ
EIGENTUM DES VERLEGERS · ALLE RECHTE VORBEHALTEN ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
PETERS EDITION LTD A member of the Edition Peters Group FRANKFURT/M. · LEIPZIG · LONDON · NEW YORK
for Tim Brown and the choir of Clare College
Commissioned by the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge
First performance June 1988 by Clare College Choir - Tim Brown; at the Clare College Chapel, Cambridge
This score is a facsimile of the composer’s manuscript, reflecting the state of editorial work and correction as of October 2007
JULIAN PHILIPS
VERTUE for Choir and Organ (1988)
Words by George Herbert
Duration c.8 minutes
VERTUE Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright, The bridall of the earth and skie: The dew shall weep thy fall to night; For thou must die. Sweet rose, whose hue angrie and brave Bids the rash gazer wipe his eye: Thy root is ever in its grave, And thou must die. Sweet spring, full of sweet dayes and roses, A box where sweets compacted lie; My musick shows ye have your closes, And all must die. Onely a sweet and vertuous soul, Like season’d timber, never gives; But though the whole world turn to coal, Then chiefly lives.
George Herbert (1593-1633)
The anthem Vertue was completed while I was an undergraduate at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and was specially commissioned by Tim Brown and the choir of Clare College. It was completed early in 1988. The work is a setting of a poem by the metaphysical poet, George Herbert (1593-1633), which contrasts the transience of earthly beauty with the permanence of spiritual virtue which "though the whole world turns to coal, Then chiefly lives." Each of the poem's four stanzas centres on a single poetic image - "Sweet day", "Sweet rose", and "Sweet Spring" culminating in the "Sweet and vertuous soul". This progression through a series of interlinked metaphors leading to a single idea, is carefully reflected in the music, which is built out of four transformations of a single harmonic cell, which gradually lighten in colour towards the radiance of G major and A major, combined in the final stanza. The first and four stanzas are closely linked and form a structural arch to the piece. The second is scored for mens' voices only who sing of the rose's "hue angry and brave" while the third is for alto solo who sings of sweet spring's "sweet dayes and roses" over a tapestry of birdlike trills and arabesques. In the final stanza the different musical elements are gently combined building to an ecstatic climax. `
Julian Philips (1996)
for Tim Brown and the choir of Clare College
VERTUE Words by George Herbert
Julian Philips
Slow and meditative
Slow and meditative
p
6
S.
bright, bright,
T.
B.
Sweet mp
day,
bright,
cool,
so
cool,
so
so
mp
Sweet
day,
so
cool,
so
mp
Sweet
day,
so
cool,
so
day,
bright, A.
Sweet
Choir
ORGAN
mp
so
calm,
so
calm,
calm,
so
so
calm,
so
The
bri - dall
of
the
The
bri - dall
of
the
The
bri - dall
of
Edition Peters No. 7990 © Copyright 2007 by Hinrichsen Edition, Peters Edition Limited, London
The
the
bri - dall
of
the
2
Earth
and
mf
9
S.
mf
A.
B.
Earth
mf
and
skie:
Earth
and
skie:
S.
weep
A.
weep
Ped.
thy
weep thy
T.
B.
thy
skie:
mp
fall
-
-
night;
fall
to
-
weep
thy
fall
to
-
mf
must
for
thou
must
for
thou
night;
for
thou
Poco allargando
shall
The
dew
shall
The
dew
shall
The
dew
shall
thou
dew
for
The
night;
Poco allargando
night;
to
to
fall
13
and
Ped.
skie:
Earth mf
T.
sfp
must
die.
die. sfp
die.
sfp
must
die.
sfp
f
5
T.
B.
root
Thy
root
is
e
is
e - ver
in
e
T.
36
thou,
-
ver
in
its
its
ver
in
and
thou
must
die.
f
must
die.
and
thou
and
thou
f
die.
f
f
grave,
And
And
thou,
f
thou,
cresc.
(REDUCE)
poco a poco dim.
and
must
f
f
its
grave,
grave,
Ped.
-
Ped.
it
B.
mf
32
mf
6
40
Ped.
poco a poco dim e rall
7
Ped.
47
Solo Alto
50
Solo Alto
dayes
of
sweet
spring,
3
full
3
-
3
and
ro
Ped.
rall.
mf bright
6
Sweet
B Meno mosso (Solo) f
5
Ped.
44
ses,
3
3
A
box
7
cresc.
Solo Alto
where sweets com - pac - ted
3 dim.
Solo Alto
ye have your clo - ses,
59
Solo Alto
mf
and
all
3
cresc.
3
3
3
your
must
die,
molto rall.
must
die.
molto rall. 3
mp
62
pp
dim.
clo - ses,
3
ses,
mp
sick shows
3
3
-
3
f
your clo -
mu
# #
3
più f
My
mf
lie;
56
3
53
deliberate
8
C
65
Slow and meditative (tempo primo)
2 Solo Sopranos
a
sweet,
a
sweet and
vir
mp
mf
a
Solo Alto
mp
a
S.
p
One - ly
A.
B.
p
a
sweet and ver - tuous soul,
p One - ly
a
Ped.
mp
mp
mp
Like
mp
Like
p
vir - tuous
Like
C
3
vir - tuous soul,
sweet and ver - tuous soul,
Slow and meditative (tempo primo)
tuous
Like
sweet and ver - tuous soul,
One - ly
a sweet and
-
sweet and ver - tuous soul,
a
p
One - ly
T.
a
sweet,
sweet and
3
mp
9
70
soul
2 Solo Sopranos
mp
like
sea - son'd tim - ber,
soul
Solo Alto
like
mp
like
S.
sea - son'd tim - ber, ne
A.
sea - son'd tim - ber, ne
Ped.
sea - son'd tim - ber, ne
-
ber,
ne - ver
ver
gives;
gives;
ver
gives;
ne - ver
mp
But
mp
But
mp
But
mp
But
gives;
ver
sea - son'd tim - ber, ne - ver gives;
T.
B.
-
tim -
gives; 3
tim - ber,
-
sea - son'd
ne - ver
mf
3
mp
12
cresc.
82
3
turn
rall.
to
coal
to
coal
chief
2 Solo Sopranos
3
turn
Solo Alto
lives,
S.
chief
A.
-
ly
lives,
lives,
T.
B.
chief
-
-
ly
lives,
lives,
Ped.
f
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
ly
ly
-
ly
-
ly
-
ly
chief
rall.
-
ly
chief
-
chief
-
ly
chief
-
chief
-
chief
Courtesy of Glyndebourne Productions/Photographer: David Illman
Vertue
Julian Philips studied music at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and his compositions have been performed at major festivals and venues including the Proms, the Tanglewood Music Festival, Welsh National Opera and Glyndebourne. A significant composer of operatic music, Philips’ work includes Followers, The Yellow Sofa, and Knight Crew (libretto by Nicky Singer) commissioned by Glyndebourne (2010). Welsh National Opera commissioned two chamber operas, Dolffin and Wild Cat. Other works include two ballets for English National Ballet Les Liaisons Dangereuses and The Snow Queen. Julian Philips is Honorary Fellow of, and was made Head of Composition at, the Guildhall School of Music in 2004. He has also taught at Cambridge.
philips
Julian Philips
Julian Philips studierte Musik am Emmanuel College in Cambridge. Seine Kompositionen sind bei führenden Festivals und in renommierten Häusern erklungen, darunter die BBC Proms, das Tanglewood Music Festival, Welsh National Opera und das Opernfestival im englischen Glyndebourne. Philips ist ein bedeutender Opernkomponist, und seinen Schaffen umfasst die Bühnenwerke Followers, The Yellow Sofa sowie Knight Crew (2010), ein Auftragswerk für Glyndebourne auf ein Libretto von Nicky Singer. Zwei Kammeropern, Dolffin und Wild Cat, entstanden im Auftrag der Welsh National Opera. Zu weiteren Werken gehören zwei Ballette für das English National Ballet, nämlich Les Liaisons Dangereuses und The Snow Queen. Julian Philips ist „Honorary Fellow“ der Guildhall School of Music, wo er 2004 zum Leiter der Kompositionsabteilung ernannt wurde. Außerdem lehrte er in Cambridge.
Edition Peters 7990
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