Shop for Music

About the Composer

Martha Hill Duncan

Martha Hill Duncan was a member of the first graduating class of the Houston High School for Performing and Visual Arts and earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Composition from the University of Texas at Austin. She furthered her musical studies in Ithaca, NY with pianist Trudy Borden and in Toronto with composer Dr....

Learn More About Martha Hill Duncan

Graphite Publishing

Rainfall

Name: Rainfall
SKU: GP-D013
Availability: InStock

Martha Hill Duncan

A vocal line that whips and whirls and a relentless “raindrop” piano accompaniment.

Art Songs

piano

high voice, medium voice

fast

secular, summer

Difficulty: 3

Duration: less than 3 min.

GP-D013

Add to cart

voice, piano

This award-winning song captures the excitement and build-up of a summer rainstorm with a vocal line that whips and whirls and a relentless “raindrop” piano accompaniment. The mixed meters make this piece more challenging, but they also give “Rainfall” its great little groove!

“Rainfall” won 3rd place in the 2005 Diana Barnhart American Song Competition.

Composer’s Notes

My inspiration for Singing in the Northland began in 1998 when my daughter Claire was about twelve years old. Her voice teacher, Dr. Nadia Izbitskaya, lamented the lack of expressive contemporary vocal music for young singers and presented me with the challenge of writing for my own daughter. As a transplanted Texan, living in Canada, I decided to concentrate on Canadian poetry and the first song I wrote was “Quiet,” with poetry by Marjorie Pickthall. The others in the collection followed over the years as my daughter grew up and continued singing. This collection is dedicated to Claire for her patience, humour, insights and moreover, her beautiful and expressive voice.

Text

From out the west, where darkling storm-clouds float,

The ‘waking wind pipes soft its rising note.

From out the west, o’erhung with fringes grey,

The wind preludes with sighs its roundelay,

Then blowing, singing, piping, laughing loud,

It scurries on before the grey storm-cloud;

Across the hollow and along the hill

It whips and whirls among the maples, till

With bough upbent, and green of leaves blown wide,

The silver shines upon their underside.

A gusty freshening of humid air,

With showers laden, and with fragrance rare;

And now a little sprinkle, with a dash

Of great cool drops that fall with sudden splash;

Then over field and hollow, grass and grain,

The loud, crisp whiteness of the nearing rain.

– E. Pauline Johnson (1862-1913)