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Sweet and Low
(1863)
Lyrics: Alfred Lord Tennyson
Music: Joseph Barnby
Arr: Ruth Randle and Merv Rowley
Our selection for this month is most unusual,
having been written by two men of noble families and
title. Tennyson, of course, was none other than Alfred, Lord
Tennyson, knighted and appointed Poet Laureate of
England for services to the crown. Barnby, also a Lord,
but half the age of Tennyson, was a titled music
director of one of the prominent churches in London.
Both lived during the reign of Queen Victoria.
The lyrics for Sweet and Low, a lullaby, first appeared
in a small book of poems by Tennyson. The music for this
piece was
written as a "Part-Song", a choral arrangement
with rich vocal
harmonies. It is beautifully
written, and is known worldwide; it ranks with the
lullaby of Brahms' Wiegenlied as one of the world's
finest, most beautiful lullabies.
About the Music:
In selecting chords for such a piece, we are trying to duplicate
on our three strings in two octaves, music written for four or more voices,
on instruments with far more strings, keys, etc., which
can collectively produce far more varieties and ranges of
harmony than we can on our simple, modally-tuned instrument. The
chords for this song were chosen in an attempt to
recreate as closely as possible the complex vocal
harmonies in the musical score. In some cases a two-note chord was used
to suggest a more complex chord. The chord names
in this piece are the suggested chords "as we hear
them" with their missing notes.
Your 1-3-5 Team
♫♫♫
Download
Files:
Sweet and Low.pdf
Sweet and Low.tef
Sweet and Low.MID
Historical
Links:
Alfred,
Lord Tennyson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred,_Lord_Tennyson
Joseph
Barnby http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Barnby
What
is a Part-Song? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partsongs
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Please email
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Copyright © 2006 GMW MarketingPLUS
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