Composer: Ingrid StölzelDetailsFormat: Mixed Choir - 4 voicesVoicing: SATBIncidental Divisi: S, A, T, BSolo Requirements: SAccompaniment: unaccompaniedNotation: standardPerformance Length: 6:00 Study Scores & Audio FilesStudy Score & Audio Order Printed ScoresOrder site / Alternate source of score: info@ingridstolzel.com Texts & TranslationsLanguage(s): EnglishText Source: Elizabeth Barrett BrowningText: What’s the best thing in the world? June-rose, by May-dew impearled; Sweet south-wind, that means no rain; Truth, not cruel to a friend; Pleasure, not in haste to end; Beauty, not self-decked and curled Till its pride is over-plain; Light, that never makes you wink; Memory, that gives no pain; Love, when, so, you're loved again. What's the best thing in the world? — Something out of it, I think. Programming AidsPerformance Difficulty: difficultDescriptive Terms: joyfulinspirationalbeautyAllow Excerpts: Composition is a single movementComposer’s Notes: One of the things that immediately drew me to this poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning was the opening line: What’s the best thing in the world? It actively invites the reader to reflect on this question and by answering creates a space of gratitude in which Barrett Browning’s beautiful imagery lives and breathes. I was impressed with the way Barrett Browning was able to list her “best things” one after another, yet, from a formal perspective, the poem does not read like a list. Each idea flows beautifully to the next, vividly expressing her answers to the question. My goal was a similar one during the composing process. I wanted to capture musically the uniqueness and emotional expressivity of each individual idea, while creating a sense of belonging together. Additional InformationDate of Completion: July, 2015Date of First Performance: Saturday, November 7, 2015Premier Performance Data: Khorikos (Jesse Peckham, cond),The Shrine Church of St. Anthony of Padua, New York, NY
