Hi Eugene,

 

You might consider my SATB setting of the poem "The Tree" by 19th Century American transcendental poet Jones Very. The text takes us throught the four seasons in admiring a tree and speaks movingly of our connection to nature.  You may view the complete text and listen to excellent performances on my website:  gregbartholomew.com

 

Also on the same thing:  Song of the Mountains, a setting for chorus & piano of text by American naturalist John Muir.

 

--Greg Bartholomew

ChoralNet's resources have so many listings for nature-related themes I couldn't possibly link to them all. See a list here. (Scroll down to the "Nature" sub-category.)

What about "The Heavens Are Telling" from Haydn's Creation?

Dvorak collection In Nature'e Realm or sometimes published as Songs of Nature for SATB.  Originally in Czech the Songs of nature version published I beileve by Bourne is in an English translation.  some wonderful pieces.  Good Romantic era literature.  Lots of good titles by Mendelssohn and Brahms in this category as well.  If you want some more recent works I can recommend several that my own choir is doing this year that fit that program.

 

Larry Smith

Missouri Baptist University

Dear Eugene,

 

If you are interested,  you could take a look at my choral cycle A Glory from the Earth, to texts by William Wordsworth on this very subject. It is modern but melodic, and one or two numbers from it would certainly be suitable. If you are particularly looking for a fast number, the final song, "Written in March," is fast and fun and a "big finish." You can see and hear some excerpts on my website (http://www.allenlcohen.com/html/music.htm) and I would be happy to send you a PDF of "Written in March" or the entire score.

 

Allen Cohen

A chorus from the Haydn Seasons might be a nice work to look at for your classical era finale. Look at the first chorus.

Best wishes,

RRW

I have a set of pieces called Season Sonnets. It is a set of four pieces based on the poetry of four different poets set within the four seasons. It is for choir and piano with soprano and baritone solos in the Winter movement. The piano part is challenging. Let me know if you have an interest in the set and I can send perusal copies and a recording of a performance.

This is not 19th-century, but maybe you would be interested in my new cantata, Earthly Light. It's about 12 minutes long, in 3 movements: Nuclear Sun, Light Spectrum, and Photosynthesis (The plants sing to us). It's about how the plant world gives us life by photosynthesizing light from the sun. SATB and organ with a little divisi. It was premiered by the Bagaduce Chorale, a community chorus in Blue Hill, Maine, in December. Please let me know if you'd like a perusal score or recording.

 

Anna Dembska