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Joshua Shank
Joshua Shank (B&F Music)
Nacht und Träume
A luminous, 21s-century arrangement of a beloved Schubert lied.
SATB and Piano
An SATB and piano arrangement of Schubert song which draws on the original work’s hushed pacing and flowing accompaniment to create a choral texture of sustained stillness and breath. Balancing simplicity with expressive depth, it offers choirs an opportunity to explore refined dynamic control and evoke the gentle unfolding of night and dreams.
Composer’s Notes
The first time I heard this Schubert lied was transfixing. The ostinato in the piano makes the work move at a glacial, almost imperceptible speed as the dreams in the poetry drift out over sleeping humanity, and the singer has to work mightily to make the dynamic and the pace sound easy. I love pretty much every song Schubert wrote, but it’s not a stretch to say that “Nacht und Träume” is probably my favorite, and I’ve always wanted to arrange it for choir because I could hear sparkly, twenty-first-century harmonies in Schubert’s simple-yet-incredibly-moving music that, for me, brings the “Heil’ge Nacht” in the poetry to life even more. The COVID-19 lockdowns gave me a reason to sit down and flesh out what I had been hearing (which I hope you’ll like).
-Joshua Shank
Text
Heil’ge Nacht, du sinkest nieder;
Nieder wallen auch die Träume
Wie dein Mondlicht durch die Räume,
Durch der Menschen stille Brust.
Die belauschen sie mit Lust;
Rufen, wenn der Tag erwacht:
Kehre wieder, heil’ge Nacht!
Holde Träume, kehret wieder!
Holy night, you sink down;
Dreams, too, tumble down
Like your moonlight through space,
Through the quiet hearts of all;
They listen with delight
Calling when day awakens:
Return, holy night!
Sweet dreams, return again!
-Matthäus von Collin (1779-1824)
$2.15 per licensed PDF
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