"Before the paling of the stars" [Derek Healey]
Title
"Before the paling of the stars" [Derek Healey]
First line of lyrics: Before the paling of the stars
Part of: "Two Christina Rossetti Carols"
Creator
Healey, Derek; music (English, lived and worked in Canada & US, born 1936)
Rossetti, Christina Georgina; text (English, 1830-1894)
Date
2009 [copyright] [publication]
Publisher
Boston: Ione Press
Subject
genre: carol|choral music|Christmas music|sacred music|song|song cycle
chorus: SATB voices with divisi
instrumentation: piano
initial sharps/flats: no sharps or flats
initial time signature: 2/4
origin: United States
male composer
Language
English
Description
Rossetti poem(s): "A Christmas Carol" ("Before the paling of the stars")
Place in the larger work: The first song of two in the song cycle called "Two Christina Rossetti Carols," which includes 1. "Before the paling of the stars"; 2. "Christmas hath a darkness."
Composition history: "The original ideas for these two carols first came to me during Christmas of 2005 while visiting Oxford, Mississippi. However, they were not completed until the early Spring of 2009 in Brooklyn, New York. Like many other composers, I am often drawn to Christina Rossetti's fresh and imaginative religious and secular poetry."
Tempo markings: "Gently flowing"; quarter note = 58
Performance instructions: "Before the paling of the stars is gentle and penitential, similar to plainsong, whereas Christmas hath a darkness is by contrast both strong and joyful. In both carols, the melody often moves to an inner voice and the words 'in relief' appear. The singers should make this voice louder than the surrounding parts. Performers should not exaggerate the crescendi and diminuendi in the first carol except those at the work's close. In Christmas hath a darkness, singers should perform the verse which begins 'Earth strike up your music' with conviction, while the piano part (particularly the right hand) should be strong and evocative of clanging bells. The gradual relaxation of tension in the final two pages should be carefully controlled. Both pieces may be performed unaccompanied, the piano parts being ad lib. However, in the second carol, the fast scales are important. All ascending scales should be brilliant and descending, harp-like. I composed these two carols with college choruses in mind, but they are also suitable for liturgical use."
Format
Format 1: musical score
5 pages; performance time 2 minutes and 30 seconds
Source
Cataloguer: Emily McConkey, University of Ottawa
musical score: Derek Healey
Identifier
Record: CRM-christmascarolbefore-healey
File(s): CRM-christmascarolbefore-healey.pdf
Rights
This score is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. The score appears on the website by kind permission of composer Derek Healey.
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
Healey, Derek; music (English, lived and worked in Canada & US, born 1936) and Rossetti, Christina Georgina; text (English, 1830-1894), “"Before the paling of the stars" [Derek Healey],” Christina Rossetti In Music, accessed November 17, 2024, http://omeka.uottawa.ca/christinarossettiinmusic/items/show/2867.
Item Relations
This Item | is part of a larger work that also includes | Item: "Christmas hath a darkness" [Derek Healey] |