Music to Hear
2019
ca. 6'
SATB (minimal divisi) and piano
Text: William Shakespeare
Sonnet VIII:
Music to hear, why hear’st thou music sadly?
Sweets with sweets war not, joy delights in joy.
Why lov’st thou that which thou receiv’st not gladly,
Or else receiv’st with pleasure thine annoy?
If the true concord of well-tuned sounds,
By unions married, do offend thine ear,
They do but sweetly chide thee, who confounds
In singleness the parts that thou shouldst bear.
Mark how one string, sweet husband to another,
Strikes each in each by mutual ordering,
Resembling sire and child and happy mother
Who all in one, one pleasing note do sing:
Whose speechless song, being many, seeming one,
Sings this to thee: ‘Thou single wilt prove none.’
A rhythmic, uptempo setting of William Shakespeare's eighth sonnet featuring an engaging piano part. Harmonic language is fresh, but very accessible to ensembles and audiences of all ages. Minimal divisi.
Music to Hear was premiered on November 22, 2019 by the student-led ensemble Spiritus Novus at St. Olaf College under the direction of Will Rand. In January 2020, it received 2nd place in the Rachel Moore Composition Contest (The Choral Project).