High Voice,Vocal Solo - Level 4 - Digital Download
SKU: A0.835449
Composed by Stuart Brown. 20th Century,Contemporary,Spiritual. 37 pages. Stuart Brown Music #4285583. Published by Stuart Brown Music (A0.835449).
If you are looking for a genuinely beautiful and rewarding work for solo voice and piano, to fill a 20-minute time slot, then Idylls is for you. It provides an opportunity for both singer and pianist to demonstrate an ability to communicate a wide range of emotions. It is particularly satisfying for the pianist, whose part is anything but subservient to the vocal line and provides an opportunity to shine. At notated tempo the work lasts just under 18 minutes; the concert premiĆØre performance (in January 2019) lasted just short of 20 minutes because of the slower tempo at which the performers chose to take the fourth song.
While intended primarily for the concert platform, Idylls contains some profoundly Christian themes that may make it suitable also for church use in an appropriate context.
Although intended for professional use, Idylls may be within the technical capability of advanced high school students, noting that the third song ('Of old sat Freedom on the heights') has a piano part that was described as 'challenging' by the professional pianist who first performed it in public (Jonathan Ellis, January 12th, 2019).
As noted above, Idylls can work for church services in various contexts, although not all of the songs are necessarily appropriate to the same context. The lyrics themselves provide the best guidance in this respect.
From observing the rehearsal sessions of the two professionals who first performed the work (Chen Wang and Jonathan Ellis), the composer suggests that none of the songs - however apparently straightforward - should be taken for granted. There are nuances in all of them that require careful attention to timing and pitch. The vocal entries in the opening song require careful attention to pitch. In the second song concentrate on the timing and making it sound as light and dance-like as possible. The third song requires the singer to keep an E-flat in mind at all times (in order to pitch entries) and to sing to strict meter regardless of what the pianist is playing. The fourth song requires both grace and intensity. Pitch is the main issue, particularly some of the B-natural entries; pay special attention to timing in the first verse. The fifth and final song is melodically straightforward; pay attention to timing in the second verse.
Stuart Brown composed Idylls in early 2015 specifically for the London-based Chinese soprano Chen Wang. She performed it in public for the first time, accompanied by Manchester-based pianist Jonathan Ellis, at a concert in the southwest of England in January 2019.
Performing rights are handled in the UK by PRS for Music, in Canada by SOCAN, in the USA by ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. The full list of arrangements can be found at www.prsformusic.com/our-global-network/partners
All contact and other information (including lyrics) can be found on the composer's website at https://stuartbrownmusic.com/discover-11.html
