"Before the Paling of the Stars" [Shena Fraser]

"Before the Paling of the Stars" [Shena Fraser]

First line of lyrics: Before the paling of the stars

Part of: "Carillon"

Fraser, Shena; music (Scottish, 1910-1993)

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

1958 [publication] [copyright]

London: J. Curwen & Sons Ltd.

genre: choral music|Christmas music|sacred music|song cycle|cantata

chorus: SSA chorus

instrumentation: piano|strings

origin: United Kingdom

female composer

English

Rossetti poem(s): "A Christmas Carol" ("Before the paling of the stars")

Place in the larger work: The third song of eight in the song cycle called "Carillon," which includes 1. "What sweeter music" (Robert Herrick); 2. "I saw three ships"; 3. "Before the paling of the stars" (Christina Rossetti); 4. "A ship of angels"; 5. "When Christ was born"; 6. "On a winter's night" (Hilaire Belloc); 7. "The Yule-days"; 8. "Ring out, wild bells" (Alfred, Lord Tennyson).

Performance instructions: With piano accompaniment or piano and strings.

Format 1: musical score

complete song cycle performance time 27 minutes

In reference to the published works below: Gooch and Thatcher 4267

Reference: Gooch, Bryan N.S. and David S. Thatcher. Musical Settings of Early and Mid-Victorian Literature: A Catalogue. New York: Garland, 1979.

Other data reference(s): "Carillon: a Christmas cantata." WorldCat, http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/11405907. Accessed 14 September 2020.

Cataloguer: Alicia Duffley and Emily McConkey, University of Ottawa

Record: CRM-christmascarolbefore-fraser

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