Choral Piece of the Day, Installment 27; A Song | Also, A Song Without Words for French Horn Solo: Composed in 2004 to a poem by Howard Schwartz, A Song is a secular piece scored for SATB chorus and flute. The poem is about the love in a long term relationship that has ripened with age. The ECS Publishing Group Catalog Numbers are 6432 for the flute/choral score, and 6433 for the flute part.
Along with my piece, The Writing of Autumn, A Song remains one of the two most original-sounding works from among my published choral titles, and thus, the most unfairly neglected. The musical language of A Song results in an auditory experience I can only describe as a combination of 20th to 21st-century chromatic tonality, combined with medieval music-influenced intervals and "monody" - loosely applied; the harmonies grow directly out of the melody.
Follow the next link to hear a performance by the Philovox Ensemble, Jennifer Lester, conductor, Tim Macri, flute.
Follow the next link to see a partial PDF sample of the flute/choral score, or to purchase performance copies.
Follow the next link to see and hear the composer's YouTube music video for this title.
Background
From 1994 to 2004, all I could hear was the melody for A Song; no harmonies. As I did not want this particular title to go out in the world as a piece for vocal soloist without accompaniment, and neither did I want the melody sitting around collecting dust, I created a version of it for French horn solo appropriately titled, A Song Without Words.
Irrespective of the fact that this version is unaccompanied, it is nonetheless effective. I recall one French horn instructor writing to me telling me how much he enjoys it, and that he would be sharing it with the more talented players from among his students.
The ECS Publishing Group Catalog Number for A Song Without Words is 6434.
Follow the next link to hear a synthesized performance.
Follow the next link to see a partial PDF sample of the score, or to purchase performance copies. https://www.ecspublishing.com/a-song-without-words.html
Follow the next link to see and hear the composer's YouTube music video for this title.
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