"A Birthday" [Joel Weiss]
Title
"A Birthday" [Joel Weiss]
First line of lyrics: My heart is like a singing bird
Creator
Weiss, Joel; music (American, born 1970)
Rossetti, Christina Georgina; text (English, 1830-1894)
Date
2010 [composition]
Subject
genre: art song (lied)|song
solo: tenor
instrumentation: piano
initial sharps/flats: one sharp
initial time signature: 4/4
origin: United States
male composer
Language
English
Description
Rossetti poem(s): "A Birthday"
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)
Tempo markings: No tempo
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.
Aaron Franklin, piano, 2012. https://soundcloud.com/aafranklin/a-birthday. Accessed 4 Mar. 2019.
Format
Format 1: musical score
3 pages
Source
Reference: Ezust, Emily. The LiederNet Archive. http://www.lieder.net/lieder/index.html
Other data reference(s): Weiss, Joel. Personal interview. 22 Jan. 2017.
Cataloguer: Sarah Pennington, University of Ottawa
musical score: score provided compliments of the composer
Identifier
Record: CRM-birthday-weiss
File(s): CRM-birthday-weiss.pdf
Rights
This score is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. The score appears on this website by kind permission of composer Joel Weiss.
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.
Files
Collection
Citation
Weiss, Joel; music (American, born 1970) and Rossetti, Christina Georgina; text (English, 1830-1894), “"A Birthday" [Joel Weiss],” Christina Rossetti In Music, accessed November 21, 2024, http://omeka.uottawa.ca/christinarossettiinmusic/items/show/2192.