Four Part Chant for Treble or Mixed Voices and piano or handbells
Hickory Street Publishing · catherine@catherinedalton.net · www.catherinedalton.net
This score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.
O Sweet Radiant Mystery, set us free from that which binds, beckoning the soul to fly.
O Sweet Radiant Mystery, open our eyes to see beyond that which hides the soul from light.
O Sweet Radiant Mystery, help us hear the endless song of all that is and was and ever shall be.
Catherine Dalton Copyright © 2008 Catherine Dalton, ASCAPThe following are excerpts from “One from the Folder: Repertoire Thoughts for Women’s/Treble
Fouts (January 4, 2019 ChoralNet Blog). Reprinted with permission from the author.
“From a teaching perspective, this one should be a quick read, even for less experienced ensembles. In general, the piece is an extended round, with minimal complications, suitable for a number of concert themes and pedagogical uses. It is so much more than “just” a round though. There is beauty found between the notes, and within each overlapping imitation. Savoring these moments creates a contemplative cloud that envelops the singer and the audience alike.
The work has no key signature given, but the voice parts can be read as if in d (natural) minor. This is great chance for laminor solfège! Its rhythms are all half notes and quarter notes, along with some ties, and so can be sight-read. All in all, the piece will likely not be difficult to learn.
The beauty of this work…comes from its spare nature and clarity. The interest lies in the breaths between phrases and the space – vocally, metaphorically, and otherwise – created in the moment. The piece…provides ample opportunity for the growth of your ensemble through phrasing, breathing, and word stress. The intentionality found in each note, each phrase, each lift, can be stunning.
The accompaniment is a four-measure pattern which repeats continually until the end of the song. It is intended to be played on piano or handbells. If using piano, the chords should be approached with bell-like clarity. Another option might be educational hand chimes, if you wanted the ensemble to accompany themselves, but that might take away from the meditative nature for the singers. If the performance goal is to involve other ensembles/departments, you might be able to use a small combination of Orff instruments, marimba, or vibes as well, but that likely depends on the resonance of your space and your instruments. The goal is to use something that will strike clearly and continue sounding until dampened.
Woven together with great care, the phrases foster a contemplative, meditative feeling. Thus, the text transcends the typical sacred/secular divisions of our usual choral repertoire.
I can see this piece being used in a number of thematic concerts, as well as a standalone work chosen for its pedagogical qualities (minor solfège, part independence through rounds, etc.). For my ensembles, we first approached the piece during a concert sequence dedicated to mindfulness, and then ultimately performed it during a winter holiday concert/service, when I needed a “feels-sacred-but-is-not-explicitly-Christmas” piece. We all have those type of programming needs, right?!
Ultimately, Catherine Dalton’s selection is readable and/or easily-teachable, with immense opportunity for reflective practice and shaping of musical moments. If done right, there is potential to shape hearts and minds as well.”
Composer’s Notes: The text and music for Sweet Radiant Mystery have their roots in my own attempt at thoughtful daily living, work that I will be doing my whole life. Like life, the tension in the piece builds… releases… then rests, only to begin again.
Tell Catherine about a performance, hire her to work with your choir and/or lead a workshop, peruse scores, listen to music, read reviews, and check out her newest projects at www.catherinedalton.net.
Hickory Street Publishing: The Music of Catherine Dalton catherine@catherinedalton.net ・ www.catherinedalton.net
This score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.
Choirs” by Shelbie L. Wahl-
Four Part Chant for Treble or Mixed Voices and piano or handbells
beck that on which
ing hides the the
*Handchimes, Vibraphone, or Orff instruments are also an option. Additional instrumentation might include accordian, wind chimes, harmonica, shaker, or tuned wine glasses.
© 2008 Catherine Dalton, ASCAP HSP-105-03 Hickory Street Publishing: The Music of Catherine Dalton catherine@catherinedalton.net · catherinedalton.net · 651-592-2383
This score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.
Photocopying is illegal. To order more copies of this score, please visit catherinedalton.net or your favorite music store. Please feel free to make as many copies of handbell score (page 7) as needed for your ensemble.
that see which be
binds, yond
free eyes from to
set o pen us our
that see which be
free eyes from to
b
set o pen us our
binds, yond ˙
that see which be
free eyes from to
binds, yond ˙ œ that see which be
the the
light.
light.
soul
from
the
soul
hear the
end less
hear the
end less
hear the
end less
hear the
end less
all that
This score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.
Catherine Dalton’s vocal compositions are inspired by classical, jazz, folk, world music and chant. Her organically-conceived pieces use everyday life as their palette, exploring the familiar to the profound. Whether setting her own lyrics or the texts of others, she often selects unconventional and challenging topics such as uncommon courage, facing adversity, cultural diversity and mystical experiences as well as the simplest observations, sorrows and joys.
Described as evocative, haunting, and atmospheric, Dalton’s music has been performed by Vox Femina Los Angeles, VocalEssence Chorus, Lumina, Cantus, Cleveland Chamber Choir, Young New Yorkers Women's Ensemble, Inversion Ensemble Da Capa, CorVoce, the Atlanta Women’s Chorus, and the new music ensemble, Zeitgeist and singers Clara Osowski, Carrie Shaw, Ivory Doublette, and Anna DeGraff, in addition to hundreds of other choirs across North America and abroad. Her works are regularly selected for national and regional choral reading sessions, all-state choirs, and performances at the American Choral Director’s Association Conferences.
Dalton has received grants from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, the Minnesota State Arts Board, and Meet the Composer. Selected commissions include Cantus, CorVoce, Osseo Chamber Singers, Amuse Singers New York, Bowling Green State University Women’s Choir, Global Harmony Community Chorus, and Minnesota’s 9-10 Grade Honor Choir. Her art song “You Have to Stand There” won first place at the 2019 TwinCities SongSlam. The song is from Bluets, a work-in-progress, for dancer, vocalists, and chamber ensemble, in which she takes advantage of MacArthur-winning author, Maggie Nelson’s, intimate and edgy text. Dalton’s community-centered piece, Walking Together, for chamber ensemble and community readers, explores our relation to each other through first person texts.
Find out more about Catherine’s projects, choral works, music for chamber ensembles, and art song on her website at catherinedalton.net
This score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.
All Things Are Too Small to Hold Me (Hadewijch II, trans. by Hirshfield) | SATB divisi, a cappella
Although the Wind (Izumi Shikibu) | SSAA, a cappella
boundless joy (Dalton) | SATB choir and narrator
Boxes (Dalton) | SSAA and piano
Come from Far, Come from Near (Dalton) | SATB, a cappella
From the State of Emptiness (Dalton) | SATB, sus. cymbal, frame drum | SSAA, sus. cymbal, frame drum, cello
Fly with Me (Dalton) | SATB and piano | SSA and piano | TBB and piano | Solo voice and piano
Love is Welcome Here (Joe Davis & Dalton) | SATB, a cappella with lead sheet
O My Friends What Can You Tell Me of Love (Mirabai, trans. by Hirshfield) | SATB choir with optional hand drum, finger cymbals/windchimes and tambourine
Only Kindness (Naomi Shihab Nye) | SATB, a cappella
Out Beyond Ideas (I’ll Meet You There) (Rumi, trans. by Barks & O’Shaughnessy) | SAB/SATB choir and piano
Praise Gaia (Dalton) | SATB, a cappella | SSAA, a capella | TTBB, a capella
She Rises (Dalton) | SSAA double choir, a cappella | TTBB double choir, a cappella
She Stood for Freedom (Dalton) | SATB choir, soprano soloist
Silver Deity of Secret Night (Lady Montagu) | TTBB chorus with tenor and baritone solos, a cappella
Street Dance (Dalton) | SATB, a cappella | TTBB, a cappella
Sweet Radiant Mystery (Dalton) | Four part chant for treble or mixed voices, piano or handbells | Four part chant for lower voices, piano or handbells
The Flute of the Infinite (Kabîr, trans. by Tagore) | SATB, a cappella, optional flute, hand drum
The Path You Walk Upon (Dalton) | SATB, piano, violin | SSA, piano, violin | SA and piano
This Morning’s Paper (Dalton) | SATB, soprano soloist and piano
To Live in This World (Naomi Shihab Nye) | SATB, a cappella
Today will be warm: A Story Cloth in Sound (Kao Kalia Yang) | SATB, Tibetan hand chimes, djembe, hand-chimes
We Don't Get To Choose (Maggie Nelson) | SSAA, a cappella
Whether the Weather (British Rhyme) | SSAA, a cappella
Hickory Street Publishing catherine@catherinedalton.net www.catherinedalton.net
This score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.