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Katerina Gimon
Katerina Gimon
The Birds’ Lullaby
Supple and gentle, this lullaby paints the image of birds falling asleep after a long day.
SSAA a cappella
A beautiful setting of Canadian Aboriginal poet E. Pauline Johnson’s “The Birds’ Lullaby,” Gimon’s piece features lush and lilting melodies intertwined with moments of aleatory (bird whistles and echoed or ‘out-of-time’ melodic lines) creating a gentle and at-times dreamy texture.
This work was commissioned by Myriad Ensemble (formerly Arcady Women’s Chamber Choir), Artistic Director Elise Naccarato, and premiered on June 10, 2016, at Central Presbyterian Church in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.
Composer’s Notes
Conductor’s note:
“This is a very effective piece that sets, in supple and gentle style the image of birds falling asleep at the end of a long day. The basic melody has great word stress, and the tessitura is perfect for a gentle, balanced sound. This original work is moderately challenging in that aleatoric elements need to be carefully explained and temporarily removed while the voices anchoring the melody with conventional notation build confidence. There are frequent, subtle changes to melodic lines (EG: major and minor versions of the same fragment) that require attention. While well laid-out and ultimately providing all the information I needed, the structure of the score is at first daunting. It was only after I found landmarks and worked to get a different energy level in the three verses that the structure took shape and the piece lifted off the page. It was worth the work!”
— Morna Edmundson, Elektra Women’s Choir
Text
I
Sing to us, cedars; the twilight is creeping
With shadowy garments, the wilderness through;
All day we have carolled, and now would be sleeping,
So echo the anthems we warbled to you;
While we swing, swing,
And your branches sing,
And we drowse to your dreamy whispering.
II
Sing to us, cedars; the night-wind is sighing,
Is wooing, is pleading, to hear you reply;
And here in your arms we are restfully lying,
And longing to dream to your soft lullaby;
While we swing, swing,
And your branches sing,
And we drowse to your dreamy whispering.
III
Sing to us, cedars; your voice is so lowly,
Your breathing so fragrant, your branches so strong;
Our little nest-cradles are swaying so slowly,
While zephyrs are breathing their slumberous song.
And we swing, swing,
While your branches sing,
And we drowse to your dreamy whispering.
— E. Pauline Johnson (1861 – 1913)
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