Lament for Ophelia SSAA and piano
SSAA - Digital Sheet Music

Item Number: 20465762
5 out of 5 Customer Rating
$2.99
Digital Download Instant Download
See more offers for this item

Taxes/VAT calculated at checkout.

Share Share
Instruments
Ensembles
Genres
Series
ArrangeMe
Formats
Item Types
Levels
Usages
Choral Choir (SSAA) - Level 3 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1011273

Composed by Jason Harris. Contemporary. Octavo. 13 pages. Andolin Music #3111457. Published by Andolin Music (A0.1011273).

Commissioned as a part of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
Department of Choral Studies' 2014-2016 celebration of the life of William
Shakespeare, from the 450th anniversary of his birth to the 400th
anniversary of his death, Lament for Ophelia is a morose setting of
Gertrude's report to Laertes and Claudius describing the circumstances of
Ophelia's death. Two motives are constant throughout the piece: the
descending melody that is heard from the downbeat, and the melody sung
by the first sopranos at measure 5, and both are used to highlight the
progression of the character from a young, naive daughter of the court to a
person driven to madness by the conspiring and duplicity of the factions
surrounding her. This is demonstrated by the innocuous, childlike character
of the opening choral melody and continuation into a somewhat playful,
jaunty theme at measure 15, which, after a short interlude where Gertrude's
allegory becomes exceedingly clear, briefly recapitulates before the two
motives converge and gather rhythmic and melodic intensity, emphasizing
her growing psychosis. Ultimately, Ophelia drowns in the brook above
which she once played so innocently, as the opening measures of the piece
return to end the tale. Ideally the performing chorus will be able to convey
the two halves of the piece in two different voices: that of Gertrude setting
the scene and telling the story, and that of the doomed Ophelia. The two
personages exist simultaneously in the text, as it is Gertrude's voice whom we
hear as we see Ophelia consigning herself to death.

This product was created by a member of ArrangeMe, Hal Leonard’s global self-publishing community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. ArrangeMe allows for the publication of unique arrangements of both popular titles and original compositions from a wide variety of voices and backgrounds.

About Digital Downloads

Digital Downloads are downloadable sheet music files that can be viewed directly on your computer, tablet or mobile device. Once you download your digital sheet music, you can view and print it at home, school, or anywhere you want to make music, and you don’t have to be connected to the internet. Just purchase, download and play!

PLEASE NOTE: Your Digital Download will have a watermark at the bottom of each page that will include your name, purchase date and number of copies purchased. You are only authorized to print the number of copies that you have purchased. You may not digitally distribute or print more copies than purchased for use (i.e., you may not print or digitally distribute individual copies to friends or students).