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Dominick DiOrio
Dominick DiOrio (DD3 Publications)
Sleep, Sleep, Happy Child (Instrumental Parts)
A timeless carol for the Christmas season
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Sleep, Sleep, Happy Child
For SATB chorus, solo soprano, violin, cello, and chimes
“Sleep, Sleep, Happy Child” is a lovely work for any Christmas program. With the chance to feature a soprano from the chorus, plus the stark accompaniment of violin, cello, and chimes, the work evokes sounds both ancient and modern. The famous “Coventry Carol” makes a cameo appearance, creating a sense of connection for any listeners.
These are the instrumental parts.
Composer’s Notes
When Nancy Menk approached me to write a new work for the South Bend Chamber Singers, I was overjoyed. Nancy is one of our profession’s stalwart supporters of living composers, having commissioned, premiered, and recorded dozens upon dozens of new choral works throughout her career. For this project, Nancy requested a new work for their concert in December 2020, something appropriate for the holiday season.
Sleep, Sleep, Happy Child is a combination of two much older historical texts. The first is the William Blake poem, “A Cradle Song,” which exists in many versions and editions. I’ve chosen one of the eight stanza versions for this work, which I segment and deploy throughout the work out of order. The second work is the music—and occasionally the text—of the famous Coventry Carol, in its oldest surviving version deployed in a mystery play from the 16th century. These two historical sources are juxtaposed to illustrate the oft-forgotten dark side to the Christmas story—Herod’s deplorable infanticide—while also drawing our attention to full arc of Jesus’ story, from newborn babe to sacrificial lamb.
This work was written during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed a still unknown number of people worldwide, including many young children. There is no better way to remember those lost to us than with music of beauty and resolve. I dedicate this work fondly to Nancy and the South Bend Chamber Singers, as well as to the many lost loved ones that have fallen to this virus. May we remember them with solace in song.
-Dominick DiOrio
Text
SWEET dreams, form a shade
O’er my lovely infant’s head;
Sweet dreams of pleasant streams
By happy, silent, moony beams.
Sweet sleep, with soft down
Weave thy brows an infant crown.
Sweet sleep, Angel mild,
Hover o’er my happy child.
Sweet smiles, in the night
Hover over my delight;
Sweet smiles, mother’s smiles,
All the livelong night beguiles.
Sweet moans, dovelike sighs,
Chase not slumber from thy eyes.
Sweet moans, sweeter smiles,
All the dovelike moans beguiles.
Sleep, sleep, happy child,
All creation slept and smil’d;
Sleep, sleep, happy sleep,
While o’er thee thy mother weep.
Sweet babe, in thy face
Holy image I can trace.
Sweet babe, once like thee,
Thy Maker lay and wept for me,
Wept for me, for thee, for all,
When He was an infant small.
Thou His image ever see,
Heavenly face that smiles on thee,
Smiles on thee, on me, on all;
Who became an infant small.
Infant smiles are His own smiles;
Heaven and earth to peace beguiles.
-William Blake (1757-1827)
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