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A concert of music with texts by William Blake or similarly mysticalDate: June 28, 2010
Dear Listers,
Sorry about the long post but this is a more complex request and to understand what it is really about I have been a little extended!. For my Melbourne (Australia) based choir, I am preparing a programme which will accompany an exhibition of new art works - which are part of the Blake Prize for Religious Art (poetry, social justice and Australian Indigenous) The art works will not necessarily be Christian in style, and I am expecting there will be many Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist and Australian Indigenous 'Dreamtime' works. I am planning to commission a new work based on some poetry from the 2010 poetry component of the prize, but am looking for other examples. Looked at many of the William Blake suggestions on this board already - and thank you to those who have made suggestions for, and made settings of Blake texts. To get more information on the Blake Art Prize which will contextualize the music programme, take a look at the website www.blakeprize.com
The ideas I am seeking from this learned community is for music that explores the themes of the art prize, the quotation from the website gives a good idea of these themes..
" The Prize was named after the mystic artist and writer William Blake who is celebrated for his creative commitments rather than his adherence to any particular dogma.
Surprise is the more characteristic response to each year’s exhibition ... In the search for fresh contemporary expressions of spirituality artists have continued to extend the envelope of the Blake to encompass a wide diversity of religious expression drawing on major religious traditions such as Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism and Judaism, as well as indigenous spirituality. The Blake has fostered this breadth of diversity and celebrated the various rich traditions that make up the landscape of belief in Australia.
More personal responses have also found their way into the Blake’s gamut with explorations of feminism and gender, connections with the natural world and the wider referencing of the political influences of war, ecology and globalisation.
I look forward to your wisdom and suggestions in this topic.
Kind regards
Andrew Blackburn
on June 28, 2010 1:42pm
Dear Andrew,
I'm not sure if this is appropriate, but I would like to bring your attention to my cantata, Earthly Light, which is has a secular/spiritual message of humanity's connection to the universe and our interdependence with other life on earth, and particularly the plant community. It's about 11-15 minutes, and was commissioned and premiered by the Bagaduce Chorale, a large community chorus in Blue Hill, Maine, in Dec, 2009. If you'd like more information, a perusal score, and/or a recording, please contact me.
Best wishes and good luck with your search,
Anna Dembska
on June 28, 2010 1:45pm
Andrew:
I'm not sure if you are aware of these two settings of "Ah, Sunflower" - if not, they would be worth considering:
Jonathan Dove, 5th movement of his cycle for double chorus and piano, The Passing of the Year (published by Peters)
Sven-David Sandström, a setting commissioned by Kamer, a youth choir based in Latvia, as part of their Sun Songs project in 2008.
Both have multiple parts, with the Sandström frequently going into divisi on both men's and women's chorus. The Dove is the easier of the two settings.
LR
on June 28, 2010 11:48pm
Andrew:
My name is Jorge Córdoba, I am composer and I wrote a choral piece for A capella Mixed Choir with the beatuful poem : The Divine Image and it's published in Earthsongs Choral Editions. You can ask for it. This piece was commisioned for the 6th World Choral Symposium celebrated in 2002 in Minneapolis, MA. and was premiered for The Norwegian Soloist Choir and her Conductor Gretel Pedersen in the Orchestra Hall in August 10th, 2002.
Congratulations fr this beatiful Project. JCV
on June 29, 2010 7:52am
My work Then Shall Be Heard Music Here sets texts by a New England abolitionist, a cry for harmony and understanding in a wounded world. I think it would be very appropriate for performance in the context of a concert and exhibition honoring Blake. More information, including score sample PDF, performance MP3, and purchase information, available at
All best!
Jonathan Santore
on June 29, 2010 8:04am
There is an arrangement of "The Tiger" by Sherri Porterfield, and of "Quiet Moment" arr. by Audrey Snyder that are excellent.
on June 29, 2010 8:10am
Hi, Andrew--
As well as being a conductor, I am Repertoire Promotions Consultant at Canadian Music Centre, which is a Not-for-Profit organization housing the works of some 750 Canadian composers. Drop me a line at ampage(a)musiccentre.ca, and I will put together a list of pieces utilizing Blake's texts. I am also consolidating a broad-based "World Religions" list at the moment which might be of use to you. Very Best Wishes, Anne Marie Page
on June 29, 2010 9:27am
Jeffrey Bishop's "To See a World in a Grain of Sand" combines the Blake text with two verses from Matthew 6.
It is for two-part upper voices, with piano or with orchestra (oboe, horn, 2 harps, strings). If you would like to
see a copy, let us know and we'll send a sample along.
Brichtmark Music/Susan Brailove
on June 29, 2010 10:57am
Hello, Andrew: I hope it is not too self-serving to point out my SATB a cappella settings of "The Lamb" (Santa Barbara Music Publishing, www.sbmp.com) and "The Tyger" (same publisher). Best wishes for the success of this intriguing program.
Melinda Bargreen
on June 29, 2010 1:31pm
Several settings of "The Lamb" are in existence, not the least of which being John Tavener's divine and quite interesting setting.
Julie Ford
on June 30, 2010 1:33pm
Hi Andrew,
I invite you to consider my set called "Three Songs of the Soul." The texts are English translations of three poems by the Dutch metaphysical poet Jan Luyken (1649-1712), who coincidentally was also an artist and printmaker. I don't know if Blake was familiar with Luyken's work, but there is a similarity of ideas and ideals. I strove to balance respect for the poet and his times with my own compositional voice, and each performance has been lovely.
If you are interested I would be glad to send you a perusal score and MP3s of concert performances. You can hear audioclips on my website, but if I send you MP3s the quality will be much better.
Best wishes,
Rebecca Oswald
raoswald(at)aol.com
on July 1, 2010 11:24pm
Dear Andrew,
I invite you to visit my website and listen to my setting of William Blake's poem, "Night" which was just accepted by the Schola Cantorum ProjectEncore website for those looking for new works for choir. "Night" was premiered by the Gregg Smith Singers and more recently was performed by The Wagner Ensemble.
I am happy to send you a perusal score and mp3 file of a concert performance. To view the score and listen to an excerpt, please visit:
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Best wishes,
Adrienne Albert
adrienne(a)adriennealbert.com
on July 27, 2010 9:47pm
Andrew,
My DMA is in choral conducting, and I did my dissertation on the music of Jean Belmont Ford. You may want to look at her piece called "The Divine Image" it uses as it's basis the Blake poem by the same title. It also uses multiple names for God interchangeably by changing a syllable or letter...symbolising how similar many religions are in their quest for enlightenment...a little controversial, but sounds like it may fit well with your programming. The work is quit difficult, so I would only recommend if your choir is fairly accomplished. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. Best wishes.
Adam Stich
adamstich(a)gmail.com
on July 28, 2010 6:57am
Andrew,
My composition "Sleep, Sleep, Beauty Bright," a setting a William Blake's "Cradle Song" for SATB and piano, is available from Colla Voce Music (15-95810).
All good wishes,
Richard Waters
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John
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