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Good Night
Classical/Choral music • 2020 • Lyricist: Guttormur Guttormsson • Alternative Title: Góða nótt
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Instrumentation |
Piano, Mixed choir |
Scored for |
Accompanying piano, Choir |
Type of score |
Piano-vocal score |
Key |
E flat major |
Translator |
Jakobina Johnson |
Publisher |
Stephen Smith |
Language |
English, Icelandic |
Difficulty |
Advanced |
Duration |
3'30 |
An atmospheric setting for mixed choir of a poem by the "Poet Laureate of Icelandic Canadians," Guttormur J. Guttormsson, with two verses in a splendid English translation, and a third verse optionally in the original Icelandic. (A thorough pronunciation guide, using both phonetics and IPA, is provided, and a recording of the text recited by a native speaker is available online.)
The poem describes the hush that comes over the earth at dusk, and the peace and respite from care that night brings. The setting, which may be performed a cappella or with a full-fledged piano accompaniment, is chromatic, and the harmonies are somewhat challenging, but the piece is strophic, so the choir really only has about 20 measures to learn, and every part is unfailingly melodic.
The setting was commissioned in 2020 by the poet's granddaughter, for Vancouver's "EnChor" choir, of which she is a member. EnChor's May 2022 premiere performance of the piece, with Morna Edmundson directing and Ken Cormier at the piano, can be heard on the accompanying audio file (used with permission).
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