Blow, blow, thou winter wind by Anna Pope

Blow, blow, thou winter wind - a challenging unaccompanied choral work by Anna Pope based on the text by William Shakespeare.
Performed here by Lumina Vocal Ensemble, Musical Director Anna Pope. Recorded at St Aloysius' Church Sevenhill by Ray Thomas, 2008. Singers: Rachel Sag, Saam Thorne, Angela Randall, Anna Pope, Rosemary Byron-Scott, Tim Muecke, Bernard Mageean, Matt Winefield, Clive Conway & Kenneth Pope. Photos by various people including Kenneth and Eleanor Pope, film by Anna Pope. lumina.org.au

Composer's note
Some compositions are months in the making, while others descend in an instant, and invade the mind until they have been committed to paper. This setting of Shakespeare's poem started playing in my head as I was waiting for a bus one windy morning. It seemed to come from the trees around me and whistle through the gaps in the bus-stop. I was singing parts of it all morning, in my head, or even aloud when I was alone. That afternoon, I typed the first verse into the computer, and within a week, I had finished the piece, snatching spare minutes from my four young children and demanding house. I have rarely had such an insistent piece in my head, so it was good to be able to finish it quickly!

BLOW, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind As man's ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen,
Because thou art not seen, Although thy breath be rude.
Heigh ho! sing, heigh ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly: Then heigh ho, the holly! This life is most jolly. Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky, That dost not bite so nigh As benefits forgot: Though thou the waters warp, Thy sting is not so sharp As friend remember'd not.
Heigh ho! sing, heigh ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly: Then heigh ho, the holly! This life is most jolly.

from Act II, Scene 7 of 'As you like it' (Amiens), by William Shakespeare (1600)

Category:

Music

Tags:

• classical music
• slideshow
• choir
• wind
• Shakespeare
• winter
• snow
• friendship
• singing
• virtuoso
• unaccompanied
• sound
• effects
• vocal