Originallywritten for a Japanese a cappella ensemble, the Billy Joel classic starts offwith in 12/8, using pyramid and cascade voicings to build the chords and keepthe momentum going. Alto gets the solo, but if it gets to be a bit low it couldbe shared by a tenor. The sweet, yearning sentiment is captured in the richharmony and seamless flow. Approx. performance time 3:50.

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Chinese.

'Particularly suitable for youth choir'. This distinction was given by the jury of the International Competition for Choral Composition 2013 to Pan Xingzimin's 'Poem I'. The text of this secular choral work for six-part mixed a-cappella choir (SSAATTB) was written by the composer himself in his native language, this being one of the special charms of this choral piece. Below the Chinese characters are transliterations which take the insecurity about the pronunciation from the European singers, as do long passages on simple syllables like 'hmm', 'ah' or 'dong'. The unfamiliar foreign language, easy-to-grasp sequences of notes and meticulously graded dynamics make this work an effective challenge which can nevertheless be mastered even by youth choirs.