Work
Sweet Sleep and Altered Days
for SSATB choir
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These two a cappella folksong settings were written for the 2011 – 2012 NZSSC to sing during their NZ concerts and on their trip to the Ihlombe South Africa Music Festival in July 2012 . The settings were based on existing folk melodies and texts and were designed to challenge the choir. 'Lullaby' is a gentle song featuring both Maori and English text, in which a mother encourages her child to go to sleep. The rousing 'Altered Days' relates a tale of changed fortunes, for the better, of an emigrant from Scotland to New Zealand.
Commissioned note
Commissioned by Andrew Withington and the 2011 – 2012 New Zealand Secondary Students' Choir
Text note
The lyrics to 'Lullaby' are anonymous but are believed to have been written by two women – one Maori and one Pakeha – in the 1830s. The text has been in the possession of one of these families for about seven generations. The lyrics to 'Altered Days' are attributed to John Barr (1809 - 1889), a Scottish – New Zealand poet, who was the founder of the NZ Robert Burns Society and considered the Laureate of Otago Province.
Performance history
23 Jul 2011: Performed by the New Zealand Secondary Students' Choir at St Mary's-in-Holy-Trinity, in Auckland.
04 Sep 2011: Performed by the New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir at Christchurch Sings (part of Christchurch Arts Festival), in the CBS Canterbury Arena, in Christchurch.
20 Oct 2011: Performed by the New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir at the Ashburton College Auditorium, in Ashburton.
22 Oct 2011: Performed by the New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir at St Mary's Pro-Cathedral, in Christchurch.
28 Jan 2012: Performed by the New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir at Waiapu Cathedral of St John the Evangelist, in Napier.
14 Apr 2012: Performed by the New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir at the Sacred Heart Cathedral, in Wellington.
04 Jul 2012: Performed by the New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir at St Andrew's First Presbyterian, in Auckland.