First line of lyrics: My heart is like a singing bird
Place in the larger work: The second song of 11 in the song cycle titled "Women's Voices" which includes 1. “Now let no charitable hope” (Elinor Wylie); 2. “A birthday” (Christina Rossetti); 3. “To my dear and loving husband (Anne Bradstreet); 4. “To the ladies” (Mary Lee, Lady Chudleigh); 5. “If ever hapless woman had a cause” (Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke, née Sidney); 6. “We never said farewell” (Mary Coleridge); 7. “The stranger” (Adrienne Rich); 8. “What inn is this” (Emily Dickinson); 9. “Defiled is my name” (Anne Boleyn); 10. “Electrocution” (Lola Ridge); 11. “Smile, Death” (Charlotte Mew)
Composition history: Composed "13-17 Jan. 1976."
Tempo markings: "Allegro grazioso - Brisk"; quarter note = 160
Rossetti, Christina Georgina; text (English, 1830-1894)
Other data reference(s): "Women's Voices." Song of America, https://songofamerica.net/song/womens-voices/. Accessed 11 Feb. 2019. Carman, Judith E. "Women's Voices." Art Song in the United States, 1759-2011: An Annotated Bibliography, fourth edition, Scarecrow Press Inc, 2013, p. 391, no. 2265.
Cataloguer: Sarah Pennington, University of Ottawa
musical score: Peter Turkstra Library, Redeemer University College
This score is copyright protected. A score can be consulted here: "Women's Voices - soprano & piano." Boosey & Hawkes, http://www.boosey.com/shop/prod/Rorem-Ned-Women-s-Voices-soprano-piano/597112. Accessed 11 Feb. 2019.
"© Copyright 1979 by Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. Copyright for all countries. All rights reserved."
The Christina Rossetti in Music project website is hosted in Canada at the University of Ottawa Library, and we aim to comply with Canadian copyright laws. If you believe we have violated Canadian copyright law, please contact us at christinarossettimusic@uottawa.ca. The Christina Rossetti in Music project is strictly not for profit and intended for research and educational purposes only.
3 pages; complete song cycle performance time 22 minutes
Composition history: "'A Birthday' was written for a tenor in Louisiana [. . .] The music almost takes a back-seat to the text. I'd like the text to be easily understood by the audience/listener without the singer having to work too hard. I choose poetry that has a rhythm naturally contained in them, and setting these poems to music that only helps the poetry. Rossetti is lyrical, poignant, not a lot of fat in her poetry, expressive and almost begs to be sung - she's perfect for setting to music." (Weiss)
Performance history: "'A Birthday' was sung at the Ashlawn Highland Festival in Virginia, Staatstheater Kassel (Germany), recitals in Minnesota, Texas, Toronto, Montreal, Moscow, to name a few. This is probably my most popular song" (Weiss).
Recordings: "A Birthday." Lyrics by Christina Rossetti, performance by Nicholas Laroche, baritone, and Aaron Franklin, piano, 2012. https://soundcloud.com/aafranklin/a-birthday. Accessed 4 Mar. 2019.
Weiss, Joel; music (American, born 1970)
Reference: Ezust, Emily. The LiederNet Archive. http://www.lieder.net/lieder/index.html
Other data reference(s): Weiss, Joel. Personal interview. 22 Jan. 2017.
musical score: score provided compliments of the composer
This score is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. The score appears on this website by kind permission of composer Joel Weiss.
genre: Scottish ballad|choral music|song
other version 1 - instrumentation: piano
other version 1 - initial sharps/flats: two flats
Notes about the text: Starting in bar 48, the text of Robert Burns' poem "A Red, Red Rose" is sung in harmony with Rossetti's poem "A Birthday."
Composition history: "Like a Singing Bird was commissioned collaboratively through Chorus American's 2007 30th Anniversary Conference and Auction" by 20 American choruses, as listed on the score.
Performance instructions: The score states that the music is to be played "with a gospel fervour." In a composer's note included with the sheet music, Chilcott describes the choreography that's meant to accompany the piece: "I imagined this piece to include two dancers, each representing one of the two different melodies that feature in the song. The first dancer could appear at the opening of the piece, and the second at bar 47, just before the Scottish melody. I imagined the dancing to be slow-moving, simple, and complementary."
Chilcott, Bob; music (English, born 1955)
Burns, Robert; text (Scottish, 1759-1796)
Other data reference(s): "Like a Singing Bird." JW Pepper, https://www.jwpepper.com/10190218.item#/submit. Accessed 25 Jan. 2019. "Like a Singing Bird." Oxford University Press, https://global.oup.com/academic/product/like-a-singing-bird-9780193372320?cc=us&lang=en&#. Accessed 25 Jan. 2019.
musical score: Royal College of Music, London
This score is copyright protected. A score can be consulted here: "Like a Singing Bird." JW Pepper, https://www.jwpepper.com/10190218.item#/submit. Accessed 25 Jan. 2019.
10 pages; Other version 1 16 pages; performance time 4 minutes
"My Heart is Like a Singing Bird" [Sean Salamon]
other version 1 - instrumentation: a cappella
other version 1 - initial sharps/flats: one sharp
Composition history: "The piece was commissioned for Ping by the Carnegie Mellon University School of Music to celebrate the 93rd birthday of alumna and benefactor Virginia Schatz" ("Salamon: My Heart Is Like a Singing Bird").
Tempo markings: "Lively, with grace"; quarter note = 122
Performance history: First performed in April 2014 by Ping, including Chloe Holgate, Adrienne Lotto, Garrett Euker, and Sean Salamon, live at "Now Is the Month of Pinging" ("Salamon: My Heart is Like a Singing Bird").
Recordings: "My Heart is Like a Singing Bird." Lyrics by Christina Rossetti, performance by Ping, 2014. SoundCloud, https://soundcloud.com/sean-michael-salamon/my-heart-is-like-a-singing-bird-live. Accessed 11 Feb. 2019.
Other data reference(s): Ping Voices. "Salamon: My Heart Is Like a Singing Bird." YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8x92akPjtqc, 21 Feb. 2014. Accessed 11 Feb. 2019. Salamon, Sean. "List of Works." Seansalamon.com, https://seansalamon.com/works/. Acccessed 11 Feb. 2019.
"Echo 'Come to me in the Silence of the Night'" [W. Wolstenholme]
Performance history: Performed in London, 7 December 1903. (Gooch and Thatcher 4388)
Notes: This work was published for the National Institute for the Blind, London, by Ryalls and Jones, Ltd., Birkenhead. The score for "Echo." ("Come to me in the Silence of the Night") was advertised by the National Institute Edition of the Works by British Blind Composers in "The Musical Times" in 1931 ("Back Matter." vol. 72, no. 1064, Oct. 1, 1931, p. 946) and again in May 1934 ("Front Matter." vol. 75, no. 1095, p. 392) and November 1934 ("Back Matter." vol. 75, no. 1101, p. 1049).
Wolstenholme, W. [William]; music (English, 1865-1931)
In reference to the published works below: Gooch and Thatcher 4388
Reference: Gooch, Bryan N.S. and David S. Thatcher. Musical Settings of Early and Mid-Victorian Literature: A Catalogue. New York: Garland, 1979.
Other data reference(s): "Front matter." The Musical Times, vol. 75, no. 1095, May, 1934, pp. 385-400. "Echo, Come To me in the silence of the night." The Sheet Music Warehouse, www.sheetmusicwarehouse.co.uk/female-composers/echo-come-to-me-in-the-silence-of-the-night/. Accessed 14 Apr. 2020.
Cataloguer: Diana Bishara, University of Ottawa
Birkenhead: Ryalls & Jones Ltd.; London: Chappell & Co. Ltd.
Werther, Rudolph T.; music (Australian, born in Germany, 1896-1986)
In reference to the published works below: Gooch and Thatcher 4387
Cataloguer: Diana Bishara and Roxanne Lafleur, University of Ottawa
First line of lyrics: Remember me when I am gone away
In reference to the published works below: Gooch and Thatcher 4702
Other data reference(s): Record for “Remember me [music] / music R.T. Werther ; [words by] Chr. Rosetti [ie. Rossetti].” National Library of Australia, https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1295843. Accessed 15 Apr. 2020.
Cataloguer: Robyn Finlay, University of Ottawa
musical score: Library Service of Western Australia, Perth
First line of lyrics: I cannot tell you how it was
Rossetti poem(s): "May" ("I cannot tell you how it was")
In reference to the published works below: Gooch and Thatcher 4614
Cataloguer: Kevin Batsinduka, University of Ottawa
First line of lyrics: My heart, my heart
instrumentation: a cappella|piano (for rehearsal only)
initial sharps/flats: no sharps or flats
Composition history: The score contains the following information about the music's composition: the piece was commissioned by BBC radio 3 in 2015 for International Women's Day, reflecting the day's theme of hope. "The anthem is the first of three which are collectively entitled Echoes from Willow Wood [. . .] The text, Christina Rossetti’s poem ‘A Birthday’, features in Virginia Woolf’s classic essay A Room of One’s Own, based on lectures delivered at Newnham College and at Randle’s own Cambridge alma mater, Girton, an institution at the forefront of women’s education for two centuries. Inspired by the clock in Girton’s Stanley Library, the ‘chiming rhythms’ which are a driving force within the piece offer a further level of connection. The music moves from quiet anticipation to bright affirmation, the sense of something life-changing heralded by an Advent plainchant quoted in the second half. The final couplet is set apart in a hushed recitative, reflecting, in the composer’s words, ‘the hope I and other young female composers can have as we try to make our mark in what has traditionally been a male domain.'"
Tempo markings: "With quiet anticipation"; quarter note = c.60
Performance instructions: Scored for "a small solo group of sopranos or mezzo-sopranos drawn from the upper-voice ensemble" ("Randle, Rhiannon: Like a Singing Bird").
Performance history: "Like a Singing Bird" was premiered live on Radio 3 on 8 March 2015 by Sarah Connolly and the St Catharine’s Girls’ Choir, conducted by Edward Wickham."
Dedication: "for Dame Sarah Connolly, Edward Wickham and the Girls' Choir of Saint Catharine's College, Cambridge"
Randle, Rhiannon; music (English, born 1993)
Other data reference(s): Randle, Rhiannon. "Works." Rhiannonrandle.com, http://rhiannonrandle.com/works.html. Accessed 11 Feb. 2019. "Randle, Rhiannon: Like a Singing Bird." Stainer & Bell Ltd., https://stainer.co.uk/shop/cn23/. Accessed 11 Feb. 2019.
musical score: Royal Academy of Music Library, London
This score is copyright protected. A score can be consulted here: "Randle, Rhiannon: Like a Singing Bird." Stainer & Bell Ltd., https://stainer.co.uk/shop/cn23/. Accessed 11 Feb. 2019.
"© Copyright 2017 Stainer & Bell Ltd, 23 Gruneisen Road, London N3 1LS, UK, www.stainer.co.uk"
"My Heart Is Like a Singing Bird" [Peter Bloesch]
Composition history: On his website, Peter Bloesch writes "this poem by Christina Rossetti expresses her ecstatic feelings of love, and my original music seeks to capture her sense of boundless joy" ("My Heart Is Like a Singing Bird"). He describes his process of composing works based on Rossetti's poetry in a personal email, "as a composer of over 50 choral works, I was very moved by Rossetti's poetry, and found her texts to be enchanting to set to music. Her writing is direct but deceptively subtle and rich, and each reading bears more depths of meaning and inspiration. I tend to be most inspired by poetry that deals with nature and love, and her texts certainly blend these elements often enough" (Personal interview).
Tempo markings: "Brightly and with earnest excitement"; quarter note = ca. 104
Performance history: "'My Heart Is Like a Singing Bird' was premiered on Sept. 5, 2015, with Dr. Timothy Stalter conducting the University Choir here are the University of Iowa" (Personal interview).
Recordings: Bloesch, Peter. "My Heart Is Like a Singing Bird ~ by Peter Bloesch (original composition for chorus & piano)." YouTube, 2 Feb. 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yq8aRq6Yn8M. Accessed 21 Jan. 2019.
Other data reference(s): Bloesch, Peter. "My Heart Is Like a Singing Bird." peterbloesch.com, https://peterbloesch.com/music/choral/gen-keyboard/my-heart/. Accessed 21 Jan. 2019. Bloesch, Peter. Personal interview. 29 Jan. 2019.
This score is copyright protected. A score can be consulted here: Bloesch, Peter. "My Heart Is Like a Singing Bird." peterbloesch.com. https://peterbloesch.com/music/choral/gen-keyboard/my-heart/. Accessed 21 Jan. 2019.
"Copyright owned by Peter Bloesch, with all rights reserved."
"The Birthday of My Life" [Eugene Butler]
Composition history: Composed for the Southaven, Michigan, Women's Chorus, with Cole Tyrell as conductor.
Performance instructions: To be played "exuberantly."
Butler, Eugene; music (American, born 1935)
Other data reference(s): "The Birthday of My Life." JW Pepper, https://www.jwpepper.com/3072907.item#/submit. Accessed 31 Jan. 2019.
This score is copyright protected. A score can be consulted here: "The Birthday of My Life." JW Pepper, https://www.jwpepper.com/3072907.item#/submit. Accessed 31 Jan. 2019.
Composition history: "A Birthday" was composed for Floyd Farmer and the Camerata Singers of West Michigan in commemoration of their 25th Anniversary. The Christina Rosetti poem is about a birthday, and its many references to silver were perfectly suited to a “silver” anniversary. I played with the birds in the poem by weaving bird songs throughout the piece, which begins with the women’s voices chirping “cherry up cherry dee.” The Muskegon Chronicle called the piece 'delicate and sprightly with a foundation of dignified solemnity'" (Hill).
Tempo markings: "Spirited, brightly"; quarter note = c.100
Performance history: First performed by the Camerata Singers of West Michigan, conducted by Floyd Farmer, for their 25th anniversary (Hill).
Notes: Score also includes biographical information about the composer on page 20.
Other data reference(s): Hill, Edie. "Birthday, A." Ediehill.com, https://www.ediehill.com/works/birthday. Accessed 1 Feb. 2019.
This score is copyright protected. A score can be consulted here: Hill, Edie. "Birthday, A." Ediehill.com, https://www.ediehill.com/works/birthday. Accessed 1 Feb. 2019.
"My Heart Is Like A Singing Bird" [Gary Smart]
Tempo markings: "Freely, Lyrically"; quarter note = 108
Smart, Gary; music (American, born 1943)
Other data reference(s): "My Heart Is Singing Like a Bird." JW Pepper, https://www.jwpepper.com/My-Heart-Is-Singing-Like-a-Bird/10360752.item#/submit. Accessed 11 Feb. 2019.
This score is copyright protected. A score can be consulted here: "My Heart Is Singing Like a Bird." JW Pepper, https://www.jwpepper.com/My-Heart-Is-Singing-Like-a-Bird/10360752.item#/submit. Accessed 11 Feb. 2019.
"My Heart Is Like a Singing Bird" [Phyllis Varner]
genre: song|vocal chamber music|choral music
other version 1 - chorus: women's SSA chorus
Notes about the text: Varner moves the last third of the poem ahead of the second so that the third of the poem beginning with "Carve it in doves and pomegranates" becomes the middle of the song (Walker).
Notes: Reviewer Alicia Walker writes "The composer has shown great sensitivity to the meter of the poetry in setting it to music" (Walker).
Varner, Phyllis; music (American, 1929-2014)
Other data reference(s): Walker, Alicia. Review of "My Heart Is Like a Singing Bird," by Phyllis Varner. Choral Journal, Nov 2002, p. 116. ProQuest, https://search.proquest.com/docview/1033138?accountid=14701. Accessed 14 Feb. 2019.
This score is copyright protected. A score can be consulted here: "My Heart Is Like a Singing Bird." JW Pepper, https://www.jwpepper.com/My-Heart-Is-Like-a-Singing-Bird/3701032.item#/submit. Accessed 14 Feb. 2019.
First line of lyrics: Come to me in the silence of the night
Notes: Published in 1927 by Boosey in a collection called "Five Songs for High Voice", which includes "The splendour falls", "Ask me no more" (both from "The Princess", Tennyson), "Fortune and her wheel" (from "The marriage of Geraint", Tennyson), "At the mid hour of night" (Thomas Moore), and "Echo" (Christina G. Rossetti).
Wood, Charles; music (Irish, active and died in English, 1866-1926)
In reference to the published works below: Gooch and Thatcher 4389
Other data reference(s): Record for "Five Songs for high voice." WorldCat, www.worldcat.org/oclc/49557271. Accessed 15 Apr. 2020. Banfield, Stephen. Sensibility and English Song: Critical Studies of the Early Twentieth Century. Cambridge University Press, 1985, p. 529.
Rossetti poem(s): "The Hour and the Ghost"
Notes: Manuscript available at The Library of Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge. (Gooch and Thatcher 4472).
In reference to the published works below: Gooch and Thatcher 4472
Other data reference(s): Banfield, Stephen. Sensibility and English Song: Critical Studies of the Early Twentieth Century. Cambridge University Press, 1985, p. 529.
Cataloguer: Roxanne Lafleur, University of Ottawa
"My heart is like a singing bird" [arr. W.A. Goldsworthy, music Johann Sebastian Bach]
Notes: "music freely adapted and arranged from J.S. Bach by W.A. Goldsworthy" (Record for "My heart is like a singing bird: chorus for women's voices with piano accompaniment, S.S.A.")
Bach, Johann Sebastian; music (German, 1685-1750)
Goldsworthy, W.A. [William Arthur]; arrangement (1878-1966)
Other data reference(s): Record for "My heart is like a singing bird: chorus for women's voices with piano accompaniment, S.S.A." WorldCat, http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/56122673. Accessed 21 Jan. 2019.
This score is copyright protected. A score can be consulted here: "My Heart Is Like a Singing Bird." JW Pepper, https://www.jwpepper.com/My-Heart-Is-Like-a-Singing-Bird/6424253.item#/submit. Accessed 1 Feb. 2019.
Performance history: "A series of four chamber concerts was inaugurated at the Kensington Town-hall on Wednesday [22 May 1889] evening by the Musical Guild, a society consisting exclusively of ex-students of the Royal College of Music. [...] Two songs by Mr. Charles Wood 'The Maid of Neidpath' and 'A Summer Wish,' were sung in delightfully finished style by Miss Anna Russell" ("Philharmonic and Other Concerts")
Notes: Manuscript available at The Library of Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge (Gooch and Thatcher 4814).
In reference to the published works below: Gooch and Thatcher 4814
Other data reference(s): Banfield, Stephen. Sensibility and English Song: Critical Studies of the Early Twentieth Century. Cambridge University Press, 1985, pp. 529.
Recordings: "Shall I Forget." Calen-O: Songs from the North of Ireland. Performance by Carolyn Dobbin, mezzo-soprano and Iain Burnside, piano, recorded at St. Mary's Haddington, Delphian, 2018.
Notes: Published in 1927 by Boosey and Hawkes in a collection called "Ten Songs for Low Voice." (Gooch and Thatcher 4717) (Banfield, p. 529)
In reference to the published works below: Gooch and Tatcher 4717
performance time 2 minutes and 42 seconds
Notes: Manuscript available at the University of Canterbury (Gooch and Thatcher 4390).
Zanders, Douglas William Alfred; music (New Zealander, moved to England in 1952, 1918-2012)
In reference to the published works below: Gooch and Thatcher 4390
Notes: "Echo" "known only from a list in the 1906-7 Yearbook of the Society of British Composers and from one of Bax's notebooks containing mostly cricket scores and batting averages" ("Baxworks: 1905-1909")
Bax, Arnold Edward Trevor, Sir; music (English, 1883-1953)
Other data reference(s): "Baxworks: 1905-1909." From The music of Sir Arnold Bax (1883-1953), edited by David Parlett from the catalogue by Graham Parlett, David Parlett Arts pages, http://www.davpar.eu/bax/bax0509.html. Accessed 31 Jan. 2018.
Performance history: Debut performance on 2 December 1994: "Ling Chao Chen's Echo was premiered by baritone Paul C. Tsai (a popular Taiwanese operatic singer) and LSUs New Music Ensemble (Dinos Constantinides, dir.) at the LSU [Louisiana State University] School of Music Recital Hall 12/2/94" ("Members' Activities," p. 5)
Recordings: "Echo." Illuminations. Performance by Paul Tsai, baritone, Louisiana State University New Music Ensemble conducted by Dinos Constantinides, selected by Society of Composers, Inc., Capstone Records, Brooklyn, NY, 1997.
Chen, Ling Chao; music (Taiwanese, studied in United States, born 1959)
Other data reference(s): "Members' Activities." The Society of Composers, Inc. Newsletter, vol. 25, no. 2, February 1995, p. 5.
performance time 4 minutes and 53 seconds
First line of lyrics: Gone were but the Winter
Place in the larger work: The first song of four in the song cycle "Christina Songs," settings of Christina Rossetti poems. The songs include 1. "Spring Quiet"; 2. "Dream Love"; 3. "Echo"; 4. "A Birthday"
Tempo markings: "Expressimo Poco Lento"; half note = 40 - 42
Performance history: On 13 March 2015 the complete cycle was performanced in the CMC ON THE 13th series, "PORTRAIT OF A PIONEER: The Vocal Music of Jean Coulthard," at the Canadian Music Centre National Performance Space, 20 St. Joseph St., Toronto, by Jennifer Taverner, soprano and Kara Huber, piano ("CMC ON THE 13th").
Dedication: "With thanks to Roxolana Roslak"
Notes: "Manuscript (photocopy); original of score in CMC Toronto" (Record for "Christina Songs")
Coulthard, Jean; music (Canadian, 1908-2000)
Other data reference(s): Record for "Christina Songs." Canadian Music Centre, http://www.musiccentre.ca/node/6047. Accessed 16 Apr. 2020.
musical score: Canadian Music Centre, https://www.musiccentre.ca/node/6047
This score is copyright protected. A score can be consulted here: "Christina Songs." Canadian Music Centre, http://www.musiccentre.ca/node/6047. Accessed 16 Apr. 2020.
"In agreement with the composer, the Canadian Music Centre is the sole authorized party permitted to reproduce this score for sale and/or rental."
4 pages (pp. 1-4); complete song cycle performance time 10 minutes.
First line of lyrics: Young love lies sleeping
Place in the larger work: The second song of four in the song cycle "Christina Songs," settings of Christina Rossetti poems. The songs include 1. "Spring Quiet"; 2. "Dream Love"; 3. "Echo"; 4. "A Birthday"
Notes about the text: Only the three first verses of the poem are used.
Tempo markings: "Poco Scherzando"; quarter note = 56 - 58
Notes: "Manuscript (photocopy); original of score in CMC Toronto" (Record for "Christina Songs"). The song is also published in "The Jean Coulthard Song for High Voice," Alberta Keys Music Publishing co. ltd., 2003.
Cataloguer: Emma-Catherine Wilson and Roxanne Lafleur, University of Ottawa
Toronto: Canadian Music Centre; Alberta Keys Music Publishing co, ltd.
1983, summer [composition]; 2003 [copyright] [publication]
5 pages (pp.5-9); complete song cycle performance time 10 minutes.
Place in the larger work: The third song of four in the song cycle "Christina Songs," settings of Christina Rossetti poems. The songs include 1. "Spring Quiet"; 2. "Dream Love"; 3. "Echo"; 4. "A Birthday"
Notes about the text: Only the verses one and three of the poem are used.
Tempo markings: "Lento Expressimo"; quarter note = 50 approx.
Other data reference(s): Record for "Christina Songs." Canadian Music Centre, http://www.musiccentre.ca/node/6047. Accessed 16 Apr. 2020. "CMC ON THE 13th: PORTRAIT OF A PIONEER: The Vocal Music of Jean Coulthard." Canadian Music Centre, http://www.musiccentre.ca/node/123433. Accessed 16 Apr. 2020.
musical score: Canadian Music Centre, http://www.musiccentre.ca/node/6047.
4 pages (pp. 10-13); complete song cycle performance time 10 minutes.