Pastorale

‘The Lord is my shepherd........’

    Pastorale received its world premiere by the University Men's Choir of Indiana, PA, directed by Prof. James Dearing on October 19, 2003. Mary Logan Hastings from Mannheim Opera was the soprano soloist. DOWNLOAD MP3. The performance received a rousing reception from the large audience in the Gorell Recital Hall in Indiana. The recording appears through kind permission of Prof. Dearing.

    This setting of Psalm 23 (modern English text) was commissioned by Orphei Drängar – arguably Europe’s foremost male voice choir. The choir supports and answers the soprano soloist, the woodwinds often setting up a rhythmic counterpoint against the voices, while the vibraphone’s endlessly repeating figurations spin a luminescent web. The harmonic language is strongly triadic, the most obvious inspiration being the vocal music of Mozart.

“A valuable and very beautiful addition to 20th century male choir literature.”  Dr. Robert Sund, Uppsala, Sweden.