Sleeping at Last

Instrumentation: SSATB chorus

Completed: February 6, 2008

Dedicated to: Michael Kerschner

Duration: 4 minutes

Text: "Sleeping at Last" by Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)

Premiered: June 7, 2008 by the Young New Yorkers' Chorus, Michael Kerschner, director


Commissioned as a result of being a finalist in the 2007 Young New Yorkers' Chorus Commission Competition

Audio

Yale Schola Cantorum, Simon Carrington, director

Program Note

In “Sleeping at Last,” Christina Rossetti ponders a unique kind of afterlife. Her mystical vision paints a quiet, still death, marked not by heraldic trumpets, but rather by eternal sleep. This silent repose is painted in my piece with gently undulating chords in the lower voices; though they rock in every direction, they are always held fast by an unchanging bass note. Above these chords floats a soprano melody, wide-ranging and expressive, but eerily disconnected from the sounds below.

This piece is dedicated to Michael Kerschner and the Young New Yorkers‘ Chorus.

Text

Sleeping at last, the trouble and the tumult over,
  Sleeping at last, the struggle and the horror past,
Cold and white, out of sight of friend and of lover,
    Sleeping at last.

No more a tired heart downcast or overcast,
  No more pangs that wring or shifting fears that hover,
Sleeping at last in a dreamless sleep locked fast.

Fast asleep. Singing birds in their leafy cover
  Cannot wake her, nor shake her the gusty blast.
Under the purple thyme and the purple clover
    Sleeping at last.

Performances (5)

June 7, 2008, 8:00 pm
(premiere)		The Young New Yorkers' Chorus, Michael Kerschner, music director

St. James Church, Madison Ave., New York, NY
September 20, 2008
(reading)		Yale Schola Cantorum, Simon Carrington, director

Institute of Sacred Music, Yale University, New Haven, CT
June 4, 2009, 8:00 pmC4: the Choral Composer/Conductor Collective, Phillip Cheah, conductor

The Church of All Nations, New York, NY
June 6, 2009, 8:00 pmC4:the Choral Composer/Conductor Collective, Phillip Cheah, conductor

St. Mary's Episcopal Church (Manhattanville), New York, NY
January 24, 2010, 4:00 pmWashington National Opera Chorus, Steven Gathman, conductor

St. Anne's Catholic Church, Washington, DC