SSAA choir
SKU:
ST.CN23P
Composed by
Rhiannon Randle. SSAA
unaccompanied (with
solos). . This PRINTED
version is available to
purchase as a regular
sheet music title for
delivery by post. Octavo.
Stainer & Bell Ltd.
#CN23P. Published by
Stainer & Bell Ltd.
(ST.CN23P).
ISBN
9790220225147.
Comm
issioned by the BBC as
part of the celebrations
for International Women's
Day, and reflecting its
theme of hope, Like a
Singing Bird was
premiered live on Radio 3
on 8 March 2015 by Sarah
Connolly and the St
Catharine's Girls' Choir,
conducted by Edward
Wickham. The distinctive
vocal scoring features a
small solo group of
sopranos or
mezzo-sopranos drawn from
the upper-voice ensemble.
The anthem is the first
of three which are
collectively entitled
Echoes from Willow
Wood, the second
also being available in
Choral Now. The text,
Christina Rossetti's poem
'A Birthday', features in
Virginia Woolf's classic
essay A Room of One's
Own, based on
lectures delivered at
Newnham College and at
Randle's own Cambridge
alma mater, Girton, an
institution at the
forefront of women's
education for two
centuries. Inspired by
the clock in Girton's
Stanley Library, the
'chiming rhythms' which
are a driving force
within the piece offer a
further level of
connection. The music
moves from quiet
anticipation to bright
affirmation, the sense of
something life-changing
heralded by an Advent
plainchant quoted in the
second half. The final
couplet is set apart in a
hushed recitative,
reflecting, in the
composer's words, 'the
hope I and other young
female composers can have
as we try to make our
mark in what has
traditionally been a male
domain.'.
