"Come to Me in the Silence of the Night (Echo)" [James Hopkins]

"Come to Me in the Silence of the Night (Echo)" [James Hopkins]

First line of lyrics: Come to me in the silence of the night

Part of: "Rossetti Songs"

Hopkins, James F.; music (American, born 1939)

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

1996 [composition]; 2000 [copyright]

Boston: E. C. Schirmer Music Company

genre: choral music|song cycle|song

chorus: SATB voices with divisi

instrumentation: a cappella

initial sharps/flats: one sharp

initial time signature: 4/4

other version 1 - chorus: SATB voices with divisi

other version 1 - instrumentation: harp|piano

other version 1 - initial sharps/flats: one sharp

other version 2 - chorus: SATB voices with divisi

other version 2 - instrumentation: flute|oboe|clarinet|harp|strings

origin: United States

male composer

English

Rossetti poem(s): "Echo"

Place in the larger work: The second movement of four in the choral cycle "The Rossetti Songs," settings of Christina Rossetti poems. The songs include 1. "May"; 2. "Come to Me in the Silence of the Night (Echo)"; 3. "When I am Dead, My Dearest (Song)"; 4. "A Birthday".

Composition history: "The Rossetti Songs were completed during the summer and fall of 1997 as the second commission for the recently-created position of Composer in Residence for the Pacific Chorale. Come to Me in the Silence of the Night (Echo), the first piece written, was composed in the fall of 1996 as a gift to the Chorale for their a cappella performance at the national ACDA Convention. It is dedicated to Mary Lyons, musician, generous patron of the arts and special friend. The successful reception of that movement encouraged the addition of other settings of the beautiful, mostly wistful poetry of Christina Rossetti (1830-1894). Three new movements were added, each for SATB Chorus and Harp. To provide ensemble unity among the four movements, an optional Harp part was created for use with Come to Me in the Silence of the Night (Echo). After the completion of this choral cycle, the composer adapted the instrumental part for small orchestra. The instrumentation is 1 Flute, 1 Oboe, 1 Clarinet in A, Harp and Strings."

Tempo markings: quarter note = 50

Performance instructions: "For SATB chorus (divisi) and Harp (or Piano)" "May also be sung a cappella." "Performance with Harp is preferred. In this case, the separate fully edited Harp part available for purchase from the publisher must be used (Catalog No. 5486). Use this Piano part for rehearsal and performance with piano."

Performance history: Debut performance of this song in 1997 by the Pacific Chorale. Debut performance of the complete cycle on April 26, 1998 at "St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church; Newport Beach, California; The Pacific Chorale; John Alexander, Conductor; Mindy Ball, Harpist"

Recordings: "Come to Me in the Silence of the Night." Musica, Pacific Chorale, John Alexander, conductor, Pacific Chorale, 1998.
"Echo (Come to Me in the Silence of the Night) - from The Rossetti Songs (James Hopkins)." Sweet Harmony, performance by the Pacific Chorale's John Alexander Singers, Mindy Ball, harp, and John Alexander, conductor, Pacific Chorale, 2012. Amazon.com.

Dedication: "to Mary Lyons - a very special friend"

Format 1: musical score

9 pages (pp. 3-11); performance time ca. 4 minutes 30 seconds

Cataloguer: Diana Bishara and Roxanne Lafleur, University of Ottawa

This score is copyright protected. A score can be consulted here: "The Rossetti Songs: 2. Come to Me in the Silence of the Night (Echo)." ECS Publishing Group, https://www.ecspublishing.com/the-rossetti-songs-no-2-come-to-me-in-the-silence-of-the-night-echo.html. Accessed 24 Apr. 2020

Record: CRM-echo-hopkins

"© Copyright 2000 by E. C. Schirmer Music Company, a division of ECS Publishing, Boston, Massachussetts. All rights reserved"

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