Day After Day Choir - Sheet Music

SKU: CF.BL1298

UPC: 672405011990. 6.875 x 10.5 inches. Key: D major,eb major. English. Original.

Aldous Huxley's poem, The Flowers, published in the 1925 collection Selected Poems, paints a light-hearted image of the narrator's frustration at witnessing the flowers he planted withering away in the heat of the springtime sun. The adjectives used to describe each flower highlight their beauty and variety ("The candle crocus and daffodil gold"; "And the proud tulip— How red he glows!—"), providing a vibrant effect before giving way to the gardener's aggravated exclamation at the end of each verse, with an almost laissez-faire, "what-can-be-done-about-it" attitude. Huxley's text conveys a jovial take on accepting things out of our control.Day After Day draws on this image of the frustrated gardener with a folk-like tune and jaunty rhythm. The tempo should lilt with a bit of a groove and never feel too rushed in order to attain accuracy in the vocal lines.During rehearsal, warm-ups focusing on vocal flexibility may assist in singing the skips accurately in both parts. The "claps" and "stomps" notated in the score are meant to give extra punctuation to the narrator's distress at seeing their hard work wither away in the heat.While the main section of the piece carries a bounce with it, the third verse slows down and settles into a sad, legato section reminiscent of a funeral hymn sung in memory of the narrator's cherished violets, now departed. The final chorus modulates up a half-step and ends in a layered flourish with marked and cascading dynamics.The optional violin part adds its own descant to the carefree and fun nature of the tune, rising and falling like flowers around the vocal lines and piano accompaniment.I hope you enjoy learning and performing this piece as much as I have enjoyed writing it!