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Read Composer, Chorale's Work Comes to Fruition on Friday by Gregory Van Tighem, The Walla-Walla Union-Bulletin.
Read Composer Weaves Verse Into Music by Rene Luna, The Los Angeles Times.
Read a review of An Hour to Dance (1997) for SATB chorus and piano by Richard Coffey, The Choral Journal.
Read A Prolific Poet in Music by Ken Keuffel, The Winston-Salem Journal.
Read observations on "Summary by the Pawns" from An Hour to Dance (1997) for SATB chorus and piano
Listen to a RealAudio (G2) stream of the first movement ("Key Ring") of this work performed by the Minneapolis Vocal Consort, Karin Barrett, conductor.
Listen to a RealAudio (G2) stream of the second movement ("Summary By the Pawns") of this work.
Listen to a RealAudio (G2) stream of the third movement ("The April Lovers") of this work.
Listen to a RealAudio (G2) stream of the fourth movement ("An Hour to Dance") of this work.
Listen to a RealAudio (G2) stream of the fifth movement ("Slow Scythe") of this work.
Listen to a RealAudio (G2) stream of the sixth movement ("White Darkness") of this work.
Listen to a RealAudio (G2) stream of the seventh movement ("Take My Hand") of this work.
Download an a MP3 file of the first movement of this work performed by the Minneapolis Vocal Consort, Karin Barrett, conductor.
Download an a MP3 file of the second movement of this work.
Download an a MP3 file of the third movement of this work.
Download an a MP3 file of the fourth movement of this work.
Download an a MP3 file of the fifth movement of this work.
Download an a MP3 file of the sixth movement of this work.
Download an a MP3 file of the seventh movement of this work.
Download an MP3 file of a performance of this work by the Wichita State University A Cappella Choir, Tom Wine, conductor.
Download a PDF file of the Virginia Hamilton Adair poetry used in this work as text for printing in concert programs.
Download a PDF file of the choral score of this composition. For perusal only -- not printable.
Jointly commissioned by the Whitman College Chorale and the Minneapolis Vocal Consort.
These seven musical settings present an overview of the life and work of poet Virginia Hamilton Adair. From the opening "Key Ring," filled with the anticipation of life's mysteries yet-to-be-explored, to the closing "Take My Hand," expressing resignation of a life gone by, the poems grow in vitality, color and romance, and then fade into stillness, loss of color and a vanishing of sight. [Virginia Adair is now blind.]
It is intended that a performance of the entire set of An Hour to Dance will draw the listener into the world of Virginia Hamilton Adair -- a world of unique poetic imagery, of beauty and dance and of personal loss. The musical language aims to reflect the poetry in focusing upon central rhythms and melodic flows inherent in the words. The aesthetic is to allow the poetry to speak through the music. Sonorities therefore range from full and colorful (in the first four poems) to increasingly sparse (in the closing poems).
The poems selected for An Hour to Dance are all contained in the collection "Ants on the Melon," published in 1996. Permission to set the poems to music was granted directly by the poet herself. The music was composed during the Fall and Winter of 1997-8 in the composer's studios in Braintree, Vermont and New Canaan, Connecticut.
Notes to the Conductor:
1. "Key Ring"
The conductor might use a slight rolling of the fingers, as if depicting a key ring, for the two grace-note patterns in the PNO in the last 4 measures of the song. This should be visible to the audience.
2. "Summary by the Pawns"
The choreography that is mentioned at letter F should be in the style of chess players moving on a chess board. Therefore, if a few members of the chorus might step forward, then diagonally, then back, etc., with each measure, this would be the sort of movement that would be appropriate for the text of this song. The chorus should stand quite erect, facing forward, as the lyrics indicate.
3. April Lovers"
At letter I, the free section, the conducting here might consist of the pointing cues to the chorus, as if buds of spring were popping out, lightly, in the air
5. "Slow Scythe"
The conducting starting at letter K should approximate large, sweeping, scythe-like gestures, one per measure.
7. "Take My Hand"
The refrain ("Coming to a crossing") is always to be conducted across the chorus, to illustrate a train passing by.
Notes by the composer