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Snowy Night for SATB — priced for 10 copies
Classical/Choral music • 2019 • Lyricist: Mary Oliver
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Snowy Night for SATB — priced for 10 copies
Instrumentation |
Mixed choir: Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass |
Scored for |
Choir |
Type of score |
Vocal score |
Publisher |
Enchanted Knickers Music |
Language |
English |
Difficulty |
Medium |
Duration |
7'30 |
Snowy Night paints a beautiful portrait of the poet, Mary Oliver, standing alone in the night, listening to distant calls from an unidentified owl, while admiring the beauty of the snowfall against the dark trees. The poem urges us to appreciate all of life’s great beauty, despite the fact that we will never know why things exist as they do.
The opening music is contrapuntal, yet calm and serene, as the chorus incorporates an approximation of the call of the owls. As the poet reflects on the sweetness of not knowing the answers to life’s questions, the voices come together in a flowing homophonic texture. Word painting, comprised of a descending melismatic motif traveling through the ranges, is used to describe the falling snow. As Oliver muses on what another might say about this moment, a contrast of outlook is created by using more complex rhythms and meters. Ultimately, this is Oliver’s story, and the music returns to the opening calmness. I end the song by repeating the words “I love this world” — to exemplify Oliver’s boundless appreciation of nature.
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