Digital synlighed. Målbart afkast.

Turn Ya Head

Turn Thee, Again

Lord To Thee We Turn

Turn Thy Face from my Sins

Listen, I love you

The opening lines, “Listen, I love you. Do not turn your face / Nor touch me.”, reflect the somber feelings encompassing Sara Teasdale’s poem. Paired voices initially express contrapuntal melodic lines enhanced by underlying harmony and slow syncopation in the piano accompaniment. The middle and final sections, imbued with sad words such as “let me ease my heart,” “with broken wing” and “Forget that I am speaking,” evolve beautifully within contrasting tonal regions, supported by undulating keyboard arpeggios. One of a set of six of Teasdale's love songs. Duration: 2:00

Listen, I love you

The opening lines, “Listen, I love you. Do not turn your face / Nor touch me.”, reflect the somber feelings encompassing Sara Teasdale’s poem. Paired voices initially express contrapuntal melodic lines enhanced by underlying harmony and slow syncopation in the piano accompaniment. The middle and final sections, imbued with sad words such as “let me ease my heart,” “with broken wing” and “Forget that I am speaking,” evolve beautifully within contrasting tonal regions, supported by undulating keyboard arpeggios. One of a set of six of Teasdale's love songs. Duration: 2:00

The Friendly Beasts

“The Friendly Beasts” portrays the animals who have protected Jesus and Mary during the birth. Each animal proudly takes its turn announcing its contribution. The donkey carried Mary “up hill and down.” The dove “cooed” the Child to sleep. At the end of the song, all of the animals reappear in quick succession: donkey, cow, sheep, dove. They recount the gifts they brought to Immanuel. The Clarinet plays a featured role, enhancing the message of the lyrics. For example, the Clarinet associates with each animal, braying as a donkey, warmly mooing as a cow, embellishing as a sheep with “curly horns,” and fluttering upward with trills as a dove in flight. Duration: 4:15“The Friendly Beasts” portrays the animals who have protected Jesus and Mary during the birth. Each animal proudly takes its turn announcing its contribution. The donkey carried Mary “up hill and down.” The dove “cooed” the Child to sleep. At the end of the song, all of the animals reappear in quick succession: donkey, cow, sheep, dove. They recount the gifts they brought to Immanuel. The Clarinet plays a featured role, enhancing the message of the lyrics. For example, the Clarinet associates with each animal, braying as a donkey, warmly mooing as a cow, embellishing as a sheep with “curly horns,” and fluttering upward with trills as a dove in flight. Duration: 4:15

The Friendly Beasts

“The Friendly Beasts” portrays the animals who have protected Jesus and Mary during the birth. Each animal proudly takes its turn announcing its contribution. The donkey carried Mary “up hill and down.” The dove “cooed” the Child to sleep. At the end of the song, all of the animals reappear in quick succession: donkey, cow, sheep, dove. They recount the gifts they brought to Immanuel. The Clarinet plays a featured role, enhancing the message of the lyrics. For example, the Clarinet associates with each animal, braying as a donkey, warmly mooing as a cow, embellishing as a sheep with “curly horns,” and fluttering upward with trills as a dove in flight. Duration: 4:15“The Friendly Beasts” portrays the animals who have protected Jesus and Mary during the birth. Each animal proudly takes its turn announcing its contribution. The donkey carried Mary “up hill and down.” The dove “cooed” the Child to sleep. At the end of the song, all of the animals reappear in quick succession: donkey, cow, sheep, dove. They recount the gifts they brought to Immanuel. The Clarinet plays a featured role, enhancing the message of the lyrics. For example, the Clarinet associates with each animal, braying as a donkey, warmly mooing as a cow, embellishing as a sheep with “curly horns,” and fluttering upward with trills as a dove in flight. Duration: 4:15

All Await

All Await was commissioned by Trinity Presbyterian Church, Berwyn, Pennsylvania, in celebration of the church’s 150th anniversary. It received its premiere performance at Trinity Church in December, 2012 by the Chancel Choir and Director Paul Vanderslice. Nancy Gifford was asked to compose a celebratory piece for this occasion based on an Advent theme. The text was inspired by a fourth-century hymn of St. Ambrose of Milan, Veni, Redemptor gentium. In this context, All Await echoes elements of traditional western sacred music while using today’s language. The piece begins plaintively in the E natural minor mode and suddenly breaks into joyful polyphony. In the second section (theGloria Patri adapted into English), we move into E Major and the music becomes more rhythmic and robust. The climax of the piece describes the angel Gabriel’s message to Mary, when “the Word of God descends.” Dramatically descending melodic lines appear, sung in turn by each voice part and then played by the organ. Repetition and reinvention of these musical ideas follow, with marked contrasts in texture, dynamics, articulation, and expression. Short organ interludes occur throughout the piece, introducing new sections of choral music. This work ends with a short coda, closing with the words “All await,” sung by the chorus three times and answered by the organ.