"Goblin Market" [Aaron Jay Kernis]

"Goblin Market" [Aaron Jay Kernis]

First line of lyrics: Morning and evening

Kernis, Aaron Jay; music (American, born 1960)

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

1995 [composition]

New York: Associated Music Publishers

genre: sinfonietta

solo: spoken narration

instrumentation: chamber orchestra

initial sharps/flats: no sharps or flats

initial time signature: 4/4

origin: United States

male composer

English

Rossetti poem(s): "Goblin Market"

Notes about the text: This setting of "Goblin Market" includes the complete and unaltered poem, which is to be read by a narrator. There is a significant merging of musical and literary idioms in Kernis’s use of musical notation to render his interpretation of Rossetti’s poetic metre and in his integration of the poem precisely into the orchestral score. Each syllable of the complete poem is precisely notated and placed in the musical score.

Composition history: Co-commissioned by the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (BCMG) and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra with funds provided in part by the Meet the Composer New Residencies Program, the Arts Council of England and investors as part of the BCMG’s Sound Investment Scheme.

Tempo markings: "Misterioso"; quarter note = 40

Performance instructions: Sinfonietta for solo narrator and large ensemble. The chamber orchestra includes flute (doubling piccolo & alto flute), oboe (doubling English horn), 2 clarinets in B-flat (1st doubling in E-flat clarinet, 2nd doubling bass clarinet), bassoon, horn in F, trumpet in C, percussion (two players playing 23 different instruments), piano, violin, viola, cello, and bass.

Performance history: Goblin Market’s first performance took place 12 January 1995 at The Music Hall, Shrewsbury, England, in a production presented by the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and Trestle Theatre Company, with Daniel Harding as conductor. The first U.S. performance took place on 17 May 1996 at Ordway Music Theatre in Saint Paul, performed by the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra under Hugh Woolf, conductor.

Recordings: "Kernis, Aaron Jay. Goblin Market." Lyrics by Christina Rossetti, performance by The New Professionals Orchestra, conducted by Rebecca Miller, narrated by Mary King, Signum Records, 2011.

Dedication: "In memory of David Huntley"

Notes: The score includes composition and performance history information on the title page.

Format 1: musical score

362 pages; performance time 45 minutes

In reference to the published works below: Ives DM272

Reference: Ives, Maura. Christina Rossetti: A Descriptive Bibliography. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 2011.

Cataloguer: Mary Arseneau, University of Ottawa

Musical score: Library, School of Music, University of Louisville, Louisville KY

This score is copyright protected. A score can be consulted here: "Aaron Jay Kernis: Goblin Market: 1995." Music Sales Classical, http://www.musicsalesclassical.com/composer/work/29531. Access 21 Sept. 2016.

Record: CRM-goblinmarket-kernis

File(s): CRM-goblinmarket-kernis-covertitlepageinstruments.pdf; CRM-goblinmarket-kernis-p7.jpg; CRM-goblinmarket-kernis-p129.jpg; CRM-goblinmarket-kernis-pp162-165.pdf; CRM-goblinmarket-kernis-pp169-171.pdf; CRM-goblinmarket-kernis-pp211-214.pdf; CRM-goblinmarket-kernis-pp356-358.pdf; CRM-goblinmarket-kernis-pp55-75narr.jpg

This score is protected by copyright. For permissions users should consult Associated Music Publishers, New York.

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