Work
Silver Songs
for SATB choir
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Silver Songs were commissioned by Viva Voce, conductor John Rosser, for their 25th anniversary concert (their silver anniversary) on April 25, 2010. Two of the songs use poems written especially for the concert by New Zealand writer Michelanne Forster: 'Silverfish' and 'Orapiu Night'. The other song is a setting of Walter de la Mare’s poem 'Silver'.
The songs by Forster provide sharp contrasts of mood. 'Silverfish' is humourous, depicting the evil exploits of an insect in melodramatic fashion. 'Orapiu Night' was written in memory of singer Dinah Wright, a close friend of the poets who died of cancer, and includes a haunting refrain from a New Zealand bird, the Ruru (or morepork). De le Mare’s poem is a magical evocation of moonlight, and the music in underpinned by a gentle walking motion in the basses and tenors, and a reference to English folk music style.
Commissioned note
Commissioned by Viva Voce
Contents note
- Silverfish
- Orapiu Night
- Silver
Text note
Poems by Michelanne Forster and Walter de la Mare