Scattered Light

SKU: GI.G-1118

A year ago, Westminster Williamson Voices joined a consortium called “The Scattered Light Consortium” along with Jo-Michael Scheibe at USC (the USC Thornton Chamber Singers) and Jamie Glasgow (The Glasgow School of Art Choir). I was attracted to the concept not only because of the composers who are dear friends, but because the pieces were set to poems by one of America’s greatest poets, Dana Gioia. When the two works arrived from composer Sarah Rimkus and Thomas LaVoy, I had, as they say, “the wind knocked out of me.” While both poems could be interpreted using a broader life perspective, they spoke to me and the choir in ways that were immediately deep and profound. Both poems provide light and hope to all of us who are living through this change at Westminster into something unknown. And then, shortly after this recording was completed, the pandemic struck and we were in isolation from our music-making family. We were thankful that we were able to complete this recording.   All of the music on the CD reflects our hope for the future as we climb a crooked ladder leading to, hopefully, a brighter new time for our beloved college, and our lives beyond the pandemic. Our desire is to see a glimmer of light behind what seems a very closed door. This CD offers music for personal reflection, with the hope that these sounds can provide for each of us “scattered” new light.   CONTENTS: In the Bleak Midwinter, Steve Pilkington • Kit Smart's Carol, Gerald Custer • Improvisation on Coventry Carol, Sam Scheibe, Christian Koller, Guillermo Passarin, Alex Tomlinson • Solitude, James Whitbourn • The Stars Now Rearrange Themselves, Thomas LaVoy • The Burning Ladder, Sarah Rimkus • Salvation to All That Will Is Nigh, Anthony Maglione • Brightest and Best, Sarah Rimkus • Coventry Carol, John Frederick Hudson • Magnificat, Peter Relph • Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent, Sam Scheibe.

SKU: AP.47644

UPC: 038081543376. English.

A positive message of cooperation and caring lies at the core of this inspiring piece for treble voices. A bit of unison, a few echo passages, and scattered light harmony make this an ideal choice for choirs new to singing in parts. Lyrics you will be proud to share!

SKU: PR.11540431L

UPC: 680160689767.

The first time I saw an alpenglow, I had no idea what it was. It was the late 1980s, and I was at a music camp at the base of theRocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. A few of us got up in the middle of the night so we could hike to a vantage pointat the foot of Longs Peak, to watch the sun rise without any trees obstructing our view. Even though we had a few moreminutes to go before the sun breached the horizon, when I looked up at the face of Longs Peak, it was glowing intensely with amost beautiful peach-pink color. This enchanting vision lasted only about ten minutes, after which the color faded as the sunrose. Throughout the next thirty years, whenever I returned to the Rocky Mountain National Park, I would occasionally catchthis pre-dawn light show in all its glory.An alpenglow is an optical phenomenon that is visible on high altitude mountains. It happens twice daily, right before the sunrises and right after it sets. The earth’s atmosphere scatters the sun’s light, allowing particular wavelengths of light through andblanketing the mountains in rich hues of peach, pink, red, and purple.Alpenglow opens with First Light. This movement begins in the pre-dawn hour. The music starts simply and slowly, thengrows increasingly animated as the sky lightens and the horizon shimmers with color. The movement explodes in a massiveflurry of activity when the sun crosses the horizon; this energy eventually fades as the sun rises in the sky. In Arc of the Sun,we follow the sun as it energetically leaps and surges upwards in the sky. The music moves steadily upwards as it keeps pacewith the sun’s progress, then crests as the sun reaches its zenith. As the sun bends back down towards the earth, the musicfollows suit, getting lower in range and slower as the sun nears the horizon. In Radiant Glow, the sun slips under the horizon,giving way to a most radiant alpenglow. As the alpenglow fades and twilight envelops the earth, stars shimmer in the nightsky.-S.G.

SKU: CF.CM9773

ISBN 9781491164440. UPC: 680160923342. Key: C# minor. English. Christina Rossetti.

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,                                                       Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;                                                               Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,                                                             In the bleak midwinter, long ago.What can I give Him, poor as I am?                                                                                        If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;                                                                         If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;                                                                        Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.The text from this beloved poem of Christina Rossetti (1830–1894) was originally published in an 1872 issue of Scribner’s Monthly, under the title A Christmas Carol. In the first of its five stanzas, the speaker describes in great detail a bitingly cold winter scene, void of both warmth and light. By the final stanza, the speaker's thoughts turn inward, asking what gift they may offer the infant Jesus, meek though they believe themselves to be.The poem was later set by English composer Gustav Holst (1874–1934) as a contribution to the English Hymnal in 1906 and remains the most popular setting today.London-born Rossetti came to be regarded not only as one of the greatest female poets of her time, but as an outspoken advocate on several societal issues, including slavery and cruelty towards animals.In this setting, word painting is of the utmost importance. Careful attention to word stress throughout the course of the piece will make the performance all the more captivating. Descriptive lines such as “frosty wind made moan” should be conveyed with swelling crescendos, like frigid gusts of frozen air.While this piece features an original tune, the beloved Holst melody is also featured briefly, beginning in m. 28. Take care to bring this out.There are plenty of other allusions to wintry scenes scattered throughout the choral parts as well as the accompaniment. I encourage you to put your sleuthing “hats” on and find them all. It will make the learning experience much more memorable and fun.