Work
What Sweeter Music
for soprano and baritone soloists, children's choir, SATB choir and organ
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About
'What sweeter music can we bring than a carol, for to sing the birth of this our heavenly King.' So wrote Robert Herrick, and his carol text gives this cycle its name. Originally intended to be a setting of texts drawn from traditional carols, the cycle eventually broadened out to include other sources, including an African-American spiritual text.
The various texts present aspects of the Christmas story, but do not try to describe a specific progression of events, or tell a narrative. Two of the texts are traditional ones, while others are by well-known hymn writers or poets such as Swinburne and Herrick. The longest movement, number 5, is a translation of a French carol text.
Dedication note
Written for Pakuranga Choral Society for their 2016 Christmas concert
Performance history
11 Dec 2016: Performed by Pakuranga Choral Society with Christina Orjis (soprano), Clinton Fung (baritone), Howick Primary School choir, and Michael Bell (organ), at All Saints Church, Howick.