Spring Carol Instrument : children's choir (women's choir) (SS) and harp (piano) Type : choral score Nombre de Pages : 4
SKU: HL.48022495
ISBN 9781476871486. UPC: 884088669676. 6.75x10.5 inches.
Texts: Latin and EnglishPublisher: Boosey & HawkesDifficulty level: 3The Ceremony of Carols is one of Britten's best-known and most-performed works. It is a brilliantly conceived and dramatic concert work which sees the voices process to their places singing unaccompanied plainsong and, at the end, processing out again to the same chant. These movements can also be accompanied but strictly only if the voices do not process. The final Alleluia can be repeated as many times as necessary to get the singers to and from their destination.The carols are for three-part children's voices (though, of course they can be sung by female adults as well) and they form a two-part work around a central Interlude for harp which is based on the plainsong from the Procession. Variety is the key word here as all the carols have such individual identities. The forthright Wolcum Yole!, the deliciously lyrical There is no Rose, the swinging Balulalow, the fiery and dramatic This little Babe all contribute to a work which is a feast of discovery throughout. Lovely solos and duos add further colour and the harp part, an inspired choice of accompaniment, enriches, colours and surrounds the voices with its pictorial musical imagery. If anything shows Britten's genius for writing for voices it must be this work.The challenges here are in creating a real equality between voice parts, fielding a confident pair of soloists, and making the most of the wonderfully colourful poems Britten has chosen to set. Pronunciation is not really an issue, but when I recorded this work with the Finzi Singers I decided to follow the example of Sacred and Profane and use authentic medieval pronunciation for which an expert coach was necessary. It brings an added element of colour to a familiar aural experience.Duration: 22 minutesPaul Spicer, Lichfield, 2011.
SKU: AP.12-0571520634
ISBN 9780571520633. English.
A Garland of Carols is a homage to Benjamin Britton's Ceremony of Carols. Written by Anthony Bolton, best known as one of the UK's most successful fund managers, it includes a translation of the traditional Portuguese carol Beijai o menino, as well as original works such as Lanterns which evokes a barren winter landscape from which we are transported to a more mystical land in the middle section. Though originally written for trebles, the carols work equally well for female voices. This is the harp part only.
