"In the bleak midwinter" [Mark Gotham]

"In the bleak midwinter" [Mark Gotham]

First line of lyrics: In the bleak mid-winter

Gotham, Mark; music (British)

Rossetti, Christina Georgina; text (English, 1830-1894)

2014 pre [composition]

genre: carol|choral music|Christmas music|sacred music|song

chorus: SATB voices with divisi

instrumentation: a cappella

initial sharps/flats: no sharps or flats

initial time signature: 4/4

origin: United States

male composer

English

Rossetti poem(s): "A Christmas Carol" ("In the bleak mid-winter")

Composition history: "I was drawn to set this text particularly in light of the recurring types of imagery (pastoral, angelic...) and the oppositions among them. This is connected to the musical strategy of guiding a single theme through a variety of different tonal and textural guises. In this piece, I have sought to strike a balance between setting this carol in the traditional strophic form, while also varying the musical content (and the pacing) to much greater extent than is usually possible in that idiom."

Tempo markings: "Semplice"; quarter note = c.90

Performance instructions: "The opening soprano part may be sung as a solo or by a few voices if desired. Tenuto marking (eg. bar 1) indicate a pesante approach with the weight in the centre of the note (not an accent at the beginning). Hairpins are used to indicate local textual phrasing as well as longer-range dynamic changes. Occasionally these are in conflict. For instance, there is a general crescendo for ATB in bb.51ff., but the word 'sanctus' is obviously trochaic. The meno messo bars are brief moments of hiatus followed by calm fluidity. The performer may prefer to think of these in terms of rubato rather than tempo, but in any case the result should be slightly slower than the prevailing tempo."

Performance history: "First performances: December 2014; Choir of Selwyn College, Cambridge; Sarah MacDonald, conductor"

Dedication: "Dedicated to my parents."

Format 1: musical score

5 pages

Cataloguer: Emily McConkey, University of Ottawa

musical score: IMSLP Petrucci Music Library, https://imslp.org/wiki/Special:ReverseLookup/522471. Accessed 10 September 2019.

Record: CRM-christmascarolinthebleak-gotham

File(s): CRM-christmascarolinthebleak-gotham.pdf

"© Mark Gotham: Performance Restricted Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 (PR-BY-NC-ND)"

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