Spirit Makes Life (Choral Score)
by Randol Alan Bass
4-Part - Sheet Music

SATB choir with piano or full orchestra or wind ensemble (Men's Voices)

SKU: EC.RBM-115

Composed by Randol Alan Bass. Christmas. 21st Century. Choral score. Randol Bass Music #RBM-115. Published by Randol Bass Music (EC.RBM-115).

English.

This work was originally scored for mixed chorus and symphonic wind ensemble, in 2005, for the opening of a new concert hall in Corpus Christi, Texas. The commissioning institution, Texas A & M University at Corpus Christi, asked one of their professors – Dr. Robb Jackson – to write a poem for the occasion and the result formed the basis used by the composer to create this new work. Since the academic institution in question is situated on the Texas coast the writer chose to fill his poem with sea imagery and musical metaphors related to shore-side living. This portrayed well the sense of an ocean-side artistic retreat – appropriate to the dedication of a new concert hall in a coastal community.

 

The composer was struck by the French sensibility and ambience of the text, so the resulting composition is distinctly tinged with Ravel and Debussy-like overtones and color. The textures have been conceived using time-honored Impressionistic scoring techniques, and the instrumental sounds are intended to evoke the shading, color and vibrancy of classic orchestral Impressionism, behind both warm lyricism and vigorous declamation from the choral forces.

 

The sounds in this piece range from profoundly quiet murmuring to ecstatic outpouring of emotion, and the whole is generally conceived as a three-part “arch” form. The opening and closing sections of the work are drawn with the lightest of compositional pastels, while the center portion is filled with rich and vibrant colors, applied with more substantial musical brush-strokes.

 

The orchestral version of this work is being created specifically for an upcoming performance by the Orchestra and Chorus of Maîtrise de Saint-Léonard (Alain Nogrix, music director). This ensemble will first present the new version of the work in Fougères, France during early December of 2012.