Glory in the Mountains from Songs from the High Sierra
Instant Download
Share
Details
Description
SKU: MQ.8318-2E
Composed by Gwyneth W. Walker. Secular, 21st century. 6 pages. E. C. Schirmer Music Company - Digital #8318-2E. Published by E. C. Schirmer Music Company - Digital (MQ.8318-2E).The five letters which provide the lyrics for the songs (adapted by the composer) were selected for their range of topics and sentiments. Some portray the wildlife in the mountains (“Glacier Birds...”). Others extol the beauty of the Sierra (“Mountain Glory,” “Yosemite Falls”). One expresses the whimsical/temperamental personality of the author (“Ice!”). And the final letter (“Sequoia”) speaks reverently of the great trees, in a language both naturalistic and sacred. They are the “greatest light in the woods, the greatest light in the world.”
The musical settings, especially in the piano accompaniment, are quite programmatic. Glacier birds scamper up and down the keyboard in tone clusters. “Icy” glissandi float off. The great trees take root in large, block chords, and waterfalls cascade down in scales.
There is personality in the letters. The bond between John Muir and Mrs. Carr (whom he addresses formally) is one of great kinship- a blending of the souls, a “spiritual romance.” As he marvels at the beauty of the wilderness, he writes ardently, “I wish that you could see this...” When he learns that Mrs. Carr, a botanist (whose plants suffer from the frost), dislikes ice, he chides her, and creates a “mock argument” over the value of glacial ice.
The songs begin with an ascent into the mountains. They close with the return to the coast, to the magnificent Sequoia trees, where John Muir camps for the night, in the company of a squirrel. Charmingly, he writes “therefore, my Carr, goodnight.”.
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).