Stephen Smith
Vancouver pianist, composer/arranger, choral conductor, teacher, and writer on music
St. Day Carol
SM-000544071
| Alternative title |
Sans Day Carol |
| Composer | folklore |
|---|
Arranger
|
Stephen Smith |
| Publisher | Stephen Smith |
|---|
| Genre |
Classical / Choral music |
| Instrumentation |
Mixed choir |
| Scored for | Choir |
|---|
| Type of score | Vocal score |
|---|
| Key |
E major |
| Duration |
2'15" |
|---|
| Language | English |
|---|
| Difficulty |
Easy |
|---|
| Description: |
St. Day is the name of a village near Redruth in Cornwall, England where a version of this carol was transcribed from the singing of a local man in the early 1900s. The text is a pocket version of the life of Christ, relating each event to a different feature of the holly tree -- blossom, prickle, bark, and berry. But the tune is a rollicking drinking song, rousing and fun.
The arrangement is inspired by and dedicated to one of my musical idols, the great American composer and teacher Alice Parker. Hopefully it exemplifies some of the precepts she has sought to instill in her students (and anyone else who will listen!) for the past half-century or so: her conviction that tune and text are paramount, and everything else must arise organically from them; her insistence that all the voices or lines in a composition must "listen to" each other; and her belief that the task of the choral composer is to give singers the reason, the means, and the scope to do what they do best -- communicate human stories and human emotions in all their infinite variety, subtlety, and complexity. |
Upload date: 09 Feb 2023
