Morn on the Mountains by Laura Farnell 3-Part - Sheet Music

SKU: CF.CM9827

ISBN 9781491168769. UPC: 798408100711. Key: D major. English. Text: John Keats; Christina Rossetti; Alice Cary; Jessie Belle Rittenhouse.

The text of this piece draws from poems by four different authors that are woven together. The repeated motive "Morn on the Mountains" helps to unify the composition musically, as well as create a sense of peacefulness that a mountain sunrise inspires. Farnell does not disappoint with this lovely work for SAB voices!.
Morn on the Mountains was written for the Mountain View Middle School Chorus of the Cumberland Valley School District in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. The school was built in 2019 and is surrounded by the Appalachian Mountains. While the subject of the piece is the mountains, the theme of the text is beauty and the power of beauty (natural beauty, as well as the beauty of art and music) to stir emotion within the soul. The text of this piece draws from poems by four different authors that are woven together. The repeated motive "Morn on the Mountains" helps to unify the composition musically, as well as create a sense of peacefulness that a mountain sunrise inspires.In the Green Mountains by Jessie Belle Rittenhouse describes the importance of being wholly engaged when in the presence of beauty so as not to miss any of the loveliness. An excerpt from this poem reads:I dare not look awayFrom beauty such as this,Lest, while my glance should stray,Some loveliness I miss. Over the mountains thereA thin blue veil might drift;Then in a moment rareThis thin blue veil might lift.Ah, I must pay good heedTo beauty such as this,Lest, in some hour of need,Its loveliness I miss. The following is an excerpt from Alice Cary's Morning in the Mountains which describes a sunrise in the mountains. The increasing dynamics and gradual layering voices parts from low to high in m15-19 of the piece are a musical depiction of the sun rising.Morn on the mountains! Streaks of roseate lightUp the high east athwart the shadows run;The last low star fades softly out of sight,And the gray mists go forth to meet the sun.And now from every sheltering shrub and vine.And thicket wild with many a tangled sprayAnd from the birch and elm and rough-browed pine,The birds begin to serenade the day. Below is a portion of Christina Rossetti's poem The Mountains in their Overwhelming Might, which serves as the basis of the text for the B section.The mountains in their overwhelming mightMoved me to sadness when I saw them first,And afterwards they moved me to delight;Struck harmonies from silent chords which burstOut into song, a song by memory nursed;Forever unrenewed by touch or sightSleeps the keen magic of each day or night,In pleasure and in wonder then immersed. This excerpt from John Keats' From Endymion describes the everlasting quality of beauty.A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:Its loveliness increases; it will neverPass into nothingness: but still will keepA bower quiet for us, and a sleepFull of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing. As you perform this piece, strive for a legato (smooth and connected) style. Support your sound with air and aim for a hushed quality on the softer singing. In passages that build dynamically, be sure to increase your volume and intensity to add excitement to the performance. Most importantly, enjoy the beautiful words of the text and share its message from your heart as you sing.