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Composer
Sam Batt Owens
Text Margaret Rose
Voicing Two-part mixed choir and organ
Church Season Easter
Length 2' 40" Price $2.25 (U.S.)
Released 6/96
Catalog no. 405-518
Difficulty Mod. easy
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Min. of 5
Description
An outstanding example of a two-part anthem for choirs that might be small but aren't musically challenged. Uses shifting, asymmetrical rhythms and supportive organ accompaniment. Commissioned by the Anglican Association of Musicians Foundation.
Text
Sing songs of joy today
your sweetest music raising,
from valleys far away
lift up your voice in praising.
The Lord is ris'n today,
to him all praise be given,
lift up your voice and say
that Christ the Lord is risen,
that Christ the Lord is risen.
Greet Easter day with joy
without a cloud of sadness
Let not dark clouds annoy
for Christ has brought us gladness.
The Lord is ris'n today,
to him all praise be given,
lift up your voice and say
that Christ the Lord is risen,
that Christ the Lord is risen.
No death can hold
the Christians who believeth,
their faith is strong and bold
and heav'n their souls receiveth.
The Lord is ris'n today,
to him all praise be given.
Sings songs of joy today
your sweetest music raising,
from valleys far away
lift up your voices praising.
The Lord is ris'n today,
to him all praise be given,
lift up your voice and say
that Christ the Lord is risen,
that Christ the Lord is risen.
Text: Margaret Rose, alt.
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Reviews
"These pieces are neither mindless nor obvious, andunless the miles between us have removed me more from my dear friend than I like to admitthese represent a new facet in the jewel of Sam's art. Pressed to articulate that, I must say that they seem tighter; the scope is much the same, but the detail and the energy of the detail is more closely packed. Spring Bursts Today illustrates this well; it uses an S/T and A/B division of the two-parts to produce a four-voice imitative texture which lives in the rich embrace of an independent and inventive organ part. I just had to try it out with a quartet of singers, and we discovered what I had suspected: the piece looks 'small' on paper, but it explodes in volleys of sound. By contrast, Christ the Lord Is Risen uses a more traditional S/A and T/B division of sound, with an organ part that is more supportive than independent. By using constantly shifting, asymmetrical rhythms, these forces ally to spin out the energy in an evanescent, mercurial texture." AAM Journal, March 1996
"It is good to see an effective use of SA/TB two-part writing for Easter time. Sam Batt Owens has created two melodic parts and a full organ part where needed with Margaret Rose's jubilant Easter text. For two-part needs, it is definitely worth a look." The American Organist, May
"Please do not allow sinful four-part pride to cast aspersions on this energetic two-part mixed setting. Margaret Rose's text invites us to raise our 'sweetest music,' and Owens does it with unabashed gladness and skill. High marks for Selah Publishing! Highly recommended." -Cross Accent, January 1999 |
