"When I Am Dead, My Dearest" [Anne Cawrse]

"When I Am Dead, My Dearest" [Anne Cawrse]

First line of lyrics: When I am dead, my dearest

Part of: "Rossetti Songs"

Cawrse, Anne Rebecca; music (Australian, born 1981)

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

2005 [composition]; 2008 [publication]

Adelaide: Adelaide Research and Scholarship

genre: song|song cycle

trio: two sopranos and mezzo-soprano

instrumentation: a cappella

initial sharps/flats: no sharps or flats

initial time signature: 4/4

origin: Australia

female composer

English

Rossetti poem(s): "Song" ("When I am dead, my dearest")

Place in the larger work: The fourth song of four in the song cycle called "Rossetti Songs," settings of Christina Rossetti poems, which includes 1. "Echo"; 2. "Remember Me"; 3. "Song"; 4. "When I Am Dead."

Composition history: This song is part of a song cycle prepared by the composer for her dissertation at the University of Adelaide in Australia. For each song there is a "Setting Exploration," in which the composer describes the processes by which the score was produced. These settings are included in the composer's Portfolio of Original Compositions and Exegesis: A Personal Exploration of Modal Processes, which accompanies the score. (Cawrse) "I've always enjoyed setting the female poetic voice when working with text and music, and Rossetti's poems have such an inherently musical shape, structure and sound to them, they were hard to pass up." (Cawrse) "These songs were composed expecially for the vocal trio eve, consisting of Greta Bradman, Emma Horwood (Sopranos), and Christie Anderson (Mezza Soprano). The decisions of range of each of the parts were made taking into account the specific abilities and timbres of their voices, as well a consideration of the linear line of each part. This has caused moments where the voicing of the three parts may seem unusual - for example, the Soprano 1 singing lower than the Mezzo Soprano. This is especially the case in the final song, 'When I Am Dead, My Dearest'."

Tempo markings: quarter note = 70 (eighth note =eighth note throughout)

Performance instructions: "With grace and sorrow". "For ease of performance by another female trio, the parts may be rearranged according to the vocal ranges and capabilities of the singers involves."

Performance history: Debut performance on 25 July 2005, in The Firm's four concert, "Transcendence", performance by Eve Vocal Trio (Greta Bradman, soprano; Emma Horwood, soprano; Christie Anderson, mezzo-soprano), at Pilgrim Church, Adelaide.

Recordings: Cawrse, Anne. "When I Am Dead." Performance by eve vocal trio: Greta Bradman, soprano, Emma Horwood, soprano and Christie Anderson, mezzo-soprano, 2005. SoundCloud, https://soundcloud.com/anne_c/sets/rossetti-songs. Accessed 19 Apr. 2020.

Format 1: musical score

5 pages (pp. 18-22); performance time 3 minutes; complete song cycle performance time approx. 14 minutes

Other data reference(s): Cawrse, Anne. "Re: Christina Rossetti research inquiry." Received by Mary Arseneau. 23 May 2019.

Cataloguer: Van A. Mantha-Ware and Emily McConkey, University of Ottawa

musical score: Anne Cawrse

Record: CRM-songwheniamdead-cawrse

File(s): CRM-songwheniamdead-cawrse.pdf

This score is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. The score appears on this website by kind permission of composer Anne Cawrse. To reach Anne Cawrse, email annecawrse@gmail.com or visit the following websites: http://www.annecawrse.com/; Australian Music Centre, https://www.australianmusiccentre.com.au/artist/cawrse-anne.

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