JONATHAN LITTLE - "That Time of Year" [excerpt: Opening] Sofia Opera soloists

A stark but touching setting for a cappella vocal quintet of one of Shakespeares most poignant sonnets (No.73) written for soprano, alto, tenor, baritone and bass soloists. The overall mood is one of gentle melancholy sometimes almost sombre in tone influenced by the weight of the three male voices (against the two female lines), and this is frequently matched by the archaic-sounding harmonies. Features as the final track (track 9) on the composer's album, "Terpsichore and Other Works", a Fanfare magazine recommended recording for 2008. Publisher: Publications by Wirripang. Performing Rights: ASCAP.

"That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang;
In me thou seest the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west.
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Deaths second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou seest the glowing of such fire
That on the ashes of its youth doth lie,
As the death-bed whereon it must expire,
Consumed with that which it was nourished by.
This thou perceivst, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long."

-- William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

For score, see:
http://www.australiancomposers.com.au/authors/jonathan-little

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Shakespeare sonnet
• Sonnet 73
• SATBarB soloists
• vocal quintet
• a cappella
• Jonathan Little
• Jonathan D Little
• Vox Moderne
• Robert Ian Winstin
• ASCAP
• Wirripang