SATB choir
SKU:
CA.967000
Composed by
Daniel Elder.
Contemporary Choir Music.
Sacred vocal music. Full
score. 4 pages. Duration
3 minutes. Carus Verlag
#CV 09.670/00. Published
by Carus Verlag
(CA.967000).
ISBN
9790007181727. Text
language:
English.
Since the
release of his first two
compositions, works by
the young American Daniel
Elder have won many
prizes. Elder has set an
erotic and sensuous text
from the Song of Songs in
this composition for
four-part choir (without
divisi). Although the
metaphor of the
uniqueness of the beloved
like an apple tree
between the trees in a
forest has often been
set, Elder succeeds in
finding a completely
individual, tender
musical language for this
text. The work is also
easy for amateur choirs
to sing: all the parts
have cantabile lines in
comfortable registers.
This could become a very
popular piece for church
choirs to sing at
weddings as well as in
concerts. Elder creates a
peaceful, intimate
atmosphere, with vocal
parts which are
independent, singable and
linear, frequently
writing in passages with
thirds or sixths. The
setting is harmonic in
style. However, the piece
never descends into
saccharine or kitsch, as
there are brief flashes
of dissonance, sparingly
used unexpected
alterations, and
diminished chords.
