SATB a cappella

3.5 mins

Marjorie Pickthall

Purchase from composer

After page 1

Commissioned by Jennifer Lang, University of Saskatchewan – Greystone Singers.

The text for After comes from Canadian Poet, Marjorie Pickthall’s “Three Island Songs” and speaks to themes that reflect our Canadian identity and interconnectedness with nature. Throughout the work there is a repeating musical gesture, first heard in the opening with the sopranos. This incessant repetition acts as if it were a heart beat pulsing through the song.The work winds and weaves around the repeating gesture with shifting harmonies and soaring lines in an attempt to reflect the imagery in the text. The music changes towards the end of the piece, as if to literally blossom, or as if the skies have just cleared after an afternoon rainstorm as clouds gleam, dawns rise and we are left basking in a serene state.

AFTER the wind in the wood,
Peace, and the night.
After the bond and the brood,
Flight.
After the height and the hush
Where the wild hawk swings,
Heart of the earth-loving thrush
Shaken with wings.

After the bloom and the leaf
Rain on the nest.
After the splendour and grief,
Rest.
After the hills and the far
Glories and gleams,
Cloud, and the dawn of a star,
And dreams.

Please purchase from me directly. PDF copies sent via email, $2 per member singing in the choir.