Gareth Treseder: Never weather-beaten sail: SATB: Vocal Score

Thomas Campion s Never weather-beaten sail is a sprightly text that powerfully evokes the sailor s plea for God s calming presence upon the sea s unrelenting rushing waves. At the opening of this work for unaccompanied mixed voices the jaunty alto/tenor movement in thirds symbolises the curling waves of the undulating sea the mellifluous soprano melody represents the boat s sails and the bass section s never-changing A provides the anchor. All four voices then come together in homophony urging God to come quickly...and take my soul to rest . Rather than a simple repetition of thematic material in the manner of a standard hymn the texture alters through the rest ofthe work until the very end where all voices gradually fade away into the distance leaving what seems like a lone voice in the wilderness to cry to Thee . Contrasting to other well-known setting of this text this new work provides a fresh interpretation suitable for intermediate choirs.