Choral Double bass voice,
Piano, Viola, Violin 1,
Violin 2, SATB chorus
SKU: CF.CM9735
Jubilate Agno.
Composed by Z. Randall
Stroope. 16 pages.
Duration 0:03:05. Carl
Fischer Music #CM9735.
Published by Carl Fischer
Music (CF.CM9735).
ISBN 9781491161159.
UPC: 680160919741. Key: A
minor. Latin, English.
Christopher Smart and
ZRS.
Origins of the
Tarantella The tarantella
is a popular southern
Italian dance with
origins in the 11th
century. (There is even
some mention of the
tarantella in ancient
Greek mythology.) Of the
possible sources of the
dance, the most popular
comes from the villages
of Tanto and Tarentum
(little spider), Italy.
During harvest, workers
in the field were
sometimes bitten by the
tarantula spider. To
combat the poison, the
afflicted workers went
into a frenetic, almost
musical exorcism to sweat
the venom out of their
pores. In the millennium
since, the very energetic
nature of the dance has
remained, although the
curative focus of the
dance has given way to
more enjoyable endeavors,
even stately courtship.
Origins of the Text
Christopher Smart
(1722-1771), also known
as Kit Smart or Jack
Smart, was born in Kent,
England and suffered from
what is now believed to
be acute asthma and other
health issues as a child.
As such, he did not work
in the fields, but spent
much time reading and
writing, a passion that
he nurtured for a
lifetime. Well known in
London literary circles,
his career as a writer
floundered due to
mounting debts and his
falling out of favor with
the literary
establishment: Sadly, he
was forced to confinement
at St. Luke's Hospital
for Lunatics, though this
was based on his mounting
debt, and not on
insanity. (Confinement,
or debtor's prison, was
common during this period
if one's debts could not
be paid.) During his
confinement, he worked on
two of his most famous
works, Jubilate Agno and
A Song of David. (Part of
Jubilate Agno [Rejoice in
the Lamb] was set to
music by English
composer, Benjamin
Britten.) Smart's writing
style (which, at times,
bordered on the absurd),
along with his many
obsessions, lead to
frequent misperceptions
of his work and his
lucidity. In this present
work, portions of Smart's
Jubilate Agno were used
in mm. 24-31, 103-110 and
149-156. The remaining
text was gathered by the
composer, including the
rapid, almost
patter-like, delivery of
words from A-Z in the
alphabet. (Christopher
Smart had a preoccupation
with the alphabet.) These
words both rhyme and
accentuate the frenetic
nature of the spider
dance: theraphosa
[teh-rah-fo-sa] a genus
of tarantula spiders
bellicose
[beh-lee-ko-sah] hostile;
aggressive odiosa
[o-dee-o-sa] hateful;
vexation tenebrosa
[teh-neh-bro-sa]
creeping; dark nemorosa
[neh-mo-ro-sa] wooded;
shady lapidosa
[lah-pee-do-sa] stony
area; gritty The
convergence, then, of the
medieval tarantella
(spider dance), the
writings of a brilliant
poet who bordered on the
absurd, and the infusion
of strong, descriptive
and otherwise random,
rhyming words,
synthesizes to make
dramatic lyrics for this
work. About the Composer
Z. Randall Stroope is an
American composer and
conductor. He has served
as Professor of Music at
three universities (an
Endowed Professor at
two), conducted 47
all-state choirs, and
directed over 40 times at
Carnegie Hall, among
other American venues.
Randall guest conducts
full-time, and composes
from his home studios on
Merritt Island, Florida
and in Sandia Park, New
Mexico. Performance Notes
Text: In Latin, the r is
flipped; use s instead of
z on endings such as
phosa, cosa, and so on;
the Latin o is a cross
between oh and aw; in the
transliteration above, I
chose to simply use an o
for consistency. The
director will blend the
oh and aw in the
rehearsals to his/her own
preference. Lastly,
tarantula is pronounced
tah-rah-n-too-lah (avoid
teh-ran-choo-luh) within
the confines of this
text. Stomp: This can be
done by the entire
chorus, or just the first
row. It is as much visual
as it is auditory. The
string quartet is
preferred over piano when
that option affords
itself. I created a piano
score that is a viable
option and included it in
the piano/vocal score if
a performance uses
chorus/piano.
The
tarantella is a popular
southern Italian dance
with origins in the 11th
century. (There is even
some mention of the
tarantella in ancient
Greek mythology.) Of the
possible sources of the
dance, the most popular
comes from the villages
of Tanto and Tarentum
(“little
spiderâ€), Italy.
During harvest, workers
in the field were
sometimes bitten by the
tarantula spider. To
combat the
“poison,†the
afflicted workers went
into a frenetic, almost
musical exorcism to sweat
the venom out of their
pores. In the millennium
since, the very energetic
nature of the dance has
remained, although the
curative focus of the
dance has given way to
more enjoyable endeavors,
even stately
courtship.Christopher
Smart (1722-1771), also
known as “Kit
Smart†or
“Jack Smart,â€
was born in Kent, England
and suffered from what is
now believed to be acute
asthma and other health
issues as a child. As
such, he did not work in
the fields, but spent
much time reading and
writing, a passion that
he nurtured for a
lifetime. Well known in
London literary circles,
his career as a writer
floundered due to
mounting debts and his
falling out of favor with
the literary
establishment: Sadly, he
was forced to confinement
at St. Luke’s
Hospital for Lunatics,
though this was based on
his mounting debt, and
not on insanity.
(Confinement, or
debtor’s prison,
was common during this
period if one’s
debts could not be paid.)
During his confinement,
he worked on two of his
most famous works,
Jubilate Agno and A Song
of David. (Part of
Jubilate Agno
[“Rejoice in the
Lambâ€] was set to
music by English
composer, Benjamin
Britten.) Smart’s
writing style (which, at
times, bordered on the
absurd), along with his
many obsessions, lead to
frequent misperceptions
of his work and his
lucidity. In this present
work, portions of
Smart’s Jubilate
Agno were used in mm.
24-31, 103-110 and
149-156. The remaining
text was gathered by the
composer, including the
rapid, almost
patter-like, delivery of
words from A-Z in the
alphabet. (Christopher
Smart had a preoccupation
with the alphabet.) These
words both rhyme and
accentuate the frenetic
nature of the spider
dance:The convergence,
then, of the medieval
tarantella (spider
dance), the writings of a
brilliant poet who
bordered on the absurd,
and the infusion of
strong, descriptive and
otherwise random, rhyming
words, synthesizes to
make dramatic lyrics for
this work.Z. Randall
Stroope is an American
composer and conductor.
He has served as
Professor of Music at
three universities (an
Endowed Professor at
two), conducted 47
all-state choirs, and
directed over 40 times at
Carnegie Hall, among
other American venues.
Randall guest conducts
full-time, and composes
from his home studios on
Merritt Island, Florida
and in Sandia Park, New
Mexico. In Latin, the
“r†is
flipped; use
“s†instead
of “z†on
endings such as
“phosa,â€
“cosa,†and
so on; the Latin
“o†is a
cross between
“oh†and
“awâ€; in the
transliteration above, I
chose to simply use an
“o†for
consistency. The director
will blend the
“oh†and
“aw†in the
rehearsals to his/her own
preference. Lastly,
“tarantulaâ€
is pronounced
“tah-rah-n-too-lah
€ (avoid
“teh-ran-choo-luhâ
€) within the
confines of this
text.Stomp: This can be
done by the entire
chorus, or just the first
row. It is as much visual
as it is auditory. The
string quartet is
preferred over piano when
that option affords
itself. I created a piano
score that is a viable
option and included it in
the piano/vocal score if
a performance uses
chorus/piano.
The
tarantella is a popular
southern Italian dance
with origins in the 11th
century. (There is even
some mention of the
tarantella in ancient
Greek mythology.) Of the
possible sources of the
dance, the most popular
comes from the villages
of Tanto and Tarentum
(“little
spiderâ€), Italy.
During harvest, workers
in the field were
sometimes bitten by the
tarantula spider. To
combat the
“poison,†the
afflicted workers went
into a frenetic, almost
musical exorcism to sweat
the venom out of their
pores. In the millennium
since, the very energetic
nature of the dance has
remained, although the
curative focus of the
dance has given way to
more enjoyable endeavors,
even stately
courtship.Christopher
Smart (1722-1771), also
known as “Kit
Smart†or
“Jack Smart,â€
was born in Kent, England
and suffered from what is
now believed to be acute
asthma and other health
issues as a child. As
such, he did not work in
the fields, but spent
much time reading and
writing, a passion that
he nurtured for a
lifetime. Well known in
London literary circles,
his career as a writer
floundered due to
mounting debts and his
falling out of favor with
the literary
establishment: Sadly, he
was forced to confinement
at St. Luke’s
Hospital for Lunatics,
though this was based on
his mounting debt, and
not on insanity.
(Confinement, or
debtor’s prison,
was common during this
period if one’s
debts could not be paid.)
During his confinement,
he worked on two of his
most famous works,
Jubilate Agno and A Song
of David. (Part of
Jubilate Agno
[“Rejoice in the
Lambâ€] was set to
music by English
composer, Benjamin
Britten.) Smart’s
writing style (which, at
times, bordered on the
absurd), along with his
many obsessions, lead to
frequent misperceptions
of his work and his
lucidity. In this present
work, portions of
Smart’s Jubilate
Agno were used in mm.
24-31, 103-110 and
149-156. The remaining
text was gathered by the
composer, including the
rapid, almost
patter-like, delivery of
words from A-Z in the
alphabet. (Christopher
Smart had a preoccupation
with the alphabet.) These
words both rhyme and
accentuate the frenetic
nature of the spider
dance:The convergence,
then, of the medieval
tarantella (spider
dance), the writings of a
brilliant poet who
bordered on the absurd,
and the infusion of
strong, descriptive and
otherwise random, rhyming
words, synthesizes to
make dramatic lyrics for
this work.Z. Randall
Stroope is an American
composer and conductor.
He has served as
Professor of Music at
three universities (an
Endowed Professor at
two), conducted 47
all-state choirs, and
directed over 40 times at
Carnegie Hall, among
other American venues.
Randall guest conducts
full-time, and composes
from his home studios on
Merritt Island, Florida
and in Sandia Park, New
Mexico.In Latin, the
“r†is
flipped; use
“s†instead
of “z†on
endings such as
“phosa,â€
“cosa,†and
so on; the Latin
“o†is a
cross between
“oh†and
“awâ€; in the
transliteration above, I
chose to simply use an
“o†for
consistency. The director
will blend the
“oh†and
“aw†in the
rehearsals to his/her own
preference. Lastly,
“tarantulaâ€
is pronounced
“tah-rah-n-too-lah
€ (avoid
“teh-ran-choo-luhâ
€) within the
confines of this
text.Stomp: This can be
done by the entire
chorus, or just the first
row. It is as much visual
as it is auditory. The
string quartet is
preferred over piano when
that option affords
itself. I created a piano
score that is a viable
option and included it in
the piano/vocal score if
a performance uses
chorus/piano.
