Composer: Peter FrostDetailsFormat: Mixed Choir - 5 voices or moreVoicing: SSATBAccompaniment: unaccompaniedNotation: standardPerformance Length: 4:40 Study Scores & Audio FilesStudy Score & Audio Order Printed ScoresOrder site / Alternate source of score: PeterFrostMusic@gmail.com Texts & TranslationsLanguage(s): EnglishText Source: Henry Wadsworth LongfellowText: My life is cold, and dark, and dreary; It rains, and the wind is never weary; My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past, But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast, And the days are dark and dreary. Be still, sad heart! and cease repining; Behind the clouds is the sun still shining; Thy fate is the common fate of all, Into each life some rain must fall, Some days must be dark and dreary. Programming AidsPerformance Difficulty: difficultDescriptive Terms: drearysunshinesoberingtruthfulnessAllow Excerpts: Composition is a single movementComposer’s Notes: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow paints a very dark picture of how dreary his life is, you will hear a sharp contrast with the construction and texture of the music when the third verse begins: “be still sad heart, and cease repining.” The best way to describe the construction of the dark and dreary verses would be “pointalistic”. The piece is built over several ostinati. Additional InformationDate of Completion: September, 2018Date of First Performance: Saturday, September 15, 2018Premier Performance Data: New Works Collective (Peter Frost, cond), Saint Mary the Virgin, Chappaqua, New York
