Silver Dagger SSAA - Digital Sheet Music

SKU: A0.1290533

From the arranger:

I first came across this traditional English folk ballad on the podcast mini-series “Dolly Parton’s America”. Dolly’s version was fast-based and up-beat, but the melody struck me as distant yet clear, mournful yet timeless. When I could not find a version that let the voice further explore these qualities, I made my own. The first exists on my record (WALLFLOWER by Aerhart), the second as a live solo act accompanied by a Yamaha Reface CS Synth, and the third as a Silver Dagger choral arrangement, made with and for the Young New Yorker's Chorus Treble Ensemble.

The original Silver Dagger tune is a haunting memory in its spirit as much as its history (its many possible origins trace back to the early 1800s). To this day, we wonder whether it’s love, fear or both that sway our overprotected heroine’s decision to “sleep alone all of my life.” Despite her careful consideration, the melody never grants the finality of her decision. This arrangement holds this dissonance within a meditative space - a small moment of stillness in which to let all the big thoughts and emotions come and go. We begin with the memory of the melody, gather momentum and clarity in its pulsing visceral storytelling, then release it, unresolved yet somehow changed.