Nightsongs for SSA chorus
Nightsongs portrays one night of a woman’s sleep. At the beginning of the cycle, the woman falls asleep and by the end she has woken up, reflecting on the dreams she is able to recall. We have been witness to some of these dreams during the course of the cycle. Like dreams, the text and the music are sometimes narrative in form, at other times they create a series of juxtaposed and unrelated images. The text and the music are meant to evoke the fluidity of dreams and the sense of instability one often feels even when a particular dream may portray itself as being grounded in some type of reality. The five movements of the cycle are: I. Moonrise; II. Circles, Squares; III. Touching Evil; IV. Hall of Mirrors; and V. A Poet.
Nightsongs was written for, and dedicated to, the University of Northern Iowa Women’s Chorus, Sharon Hansen, director. The first performance of this work was given by Sharon Hansen and this group at the UNI School of Music’s Russell Hall on 19 April 1993. The recording below is from this first performance (with the rehearsal pianist providing support.)
Please note that the cost of the music is per copy required for performance.
- Instrumentation:
- SSA a cappella
- Date completed:
- 1992
- Duration:
- ca. 12:30
- Author:
- Text by the composer
- Audio:
Nightsongs (I. Moonrise)
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