SATB a cappella

4 min

commissioned by the Saskatoon Chamber Singers

Published: Alliance Music AMP 1173
Premiere audio: click

TEXT:

So Would My Love
Over the wall of your sheltered garden Sunlight is painting a rainbow of dew;
So would my love, of its warmth and its glory, Fashion a pathway resplendent for you.

Over the wall of your sheltered garden Storm-clouds are gathered to herald the rain;
So would my love, from the chill and the shadows, Bring but new freshness and blooming again.

Over the wall of your sheltered garden
Softly the moonlight descends like a charm,
So would my love, all your bright life enclosing, Hold you, enfold you, and shield you from harm.

-Frances Ebbs-Canavan [1878-1963] “So Would My Love” pub. 1935 Ryerson Press *One stanza is omitted from the original four stanza poem.

PROGRAM NOTE:

“Hold You, Enfold You” is an anthem which looks to the ordinary for meaning: the beauty of a garden to shelter us, the sunlight bouncing off fresh morning dew.

The composition’s structure follows the three stanza (phrase) of the poem, though each phrase is varied. Subtle harmonic variations, and alterations in the voicing’s paint each phrase with slight variants in hue. The varying phrase lengths and cadential gestures which sometimes remain unresolved, add vibrancy to the musical language. It is as if each phrase begins rooted in a similar fashion, to then bloom and blossom anew with each section.

The second phrase sees a reduction in texture. The melodic line is placed in the Alto predominantly, and new timbres are created as various pedal notes are sustained above and below the flowing lines. The pedal points musically create interest as they are a much slower line, and the resulting harmonies which rub up and against the sustaining notes creates tension and beauty; they also metaphorically act as a call to see, and to notice things which go unnoticed. There is something lingering just out of view, or perhaps in our gaze but unfocused, blurry. The pedal points beg us to look at what is in front of us, to see the beauty in the banal, the mundane: the light which peers through the drapes and dances on the carpet.

The final phrase includes an optional descant line which may be sung as a solo, small group, or divided soprano section. It floats above the familiar music and comments on, responds too, and at times, joins in homophony with the ensemble.

The music should be legato, and unhurried. Bring out, and explore the various timbres and voice doublings in the work.