Suite Remembrance (2018)
for SATB choir | 00:08:30
by Melissa Dunphy
See also
Saint Louis Chamber Chorus (Regent Records) [2020]
Matthew Curtis - All Flesh is Grass (Choral Tracks) [2018]
Matthew Curtis - If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking (Choral Tracks) [2018]
Matthew Curtis - Mourning Into Dancing (Choral Tracks) [2018]
Matthew Curtis - Todtentanz (Choral Tracks) [2018]
Related Works
Commissioned by the Saint Louis Chamber Chorus (Philip Barnes, Artistic Director).A set of four contrasting "memorial dances" for unaccompanied mixed choir. Movements range from energetic to lyrical and moving, and each takes after a dance form: saltarello, gavotte, sarabande, and gigue. SATB a cappella; fourth movement is double SATB.
[Dunphy's] set of four short pieces entitled Remembrance explores the relationship between dance and song. The first two settings are contrasting pieces in lively dance rhythms. There follows a haunting setting of Emily Dickinson’s ‘If I can stop one heart from breaking’. This slow and expressive piece takes the suite off in a different direction. For the final piece, Melissa Dunphy’s choice of words from Psalm 30 (‘Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing’) is adroit; the words bridge nicely from the introspection of Dickinson back to extrovert dancing for the last movement of this attractive Suite. [MusicWeb International]
I. Todtentanz
By Nathaniel Scott (1701)
Translated by an unknown woman
Ye mortals, up! your glass is out,
Both high and low; for do not doubt,
But tyrant kings, at my command,
Shall take a beggar by the hand.
I'll tune my pipe, as they advance,
And make them partners in a dance.
II. All Flesh is Grass
Isaiah 40:7-8
All flesh is grass,
and all the goodliness thereof
is as the flower of the field:
the grass withers, the flower fades:
because the spirit blows upon it:
surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades:
but the word shall stand for ever.
III. If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking
By Emily Dickinson (ca. 1862)
If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
IV. Mourning into Dancing
Adapted from Psalm 30
Sing unto the Lord!
Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing:
thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;
weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
I cried unto thee, and thou has healed me.
O Lord, I will give thanks unto thee forever.
Performances
- 19 May, 2024: Vallejo Choral Society at Springbrook Masonic Temple, Vallejo, CA
- 18 May, 2024: Vallejo Choral Society at Community Congregational Church, Benicia, CA
- 16 Mar, 2024 - 17 Mar, 2024: Chicago Choral Artists at Grace Lutheran Church, River Forest, IL
- 18 Nov, 2023: Willoughby Symphony Choir at Turramurra Uniting Church, Turramurra, NSW, Australia
- 05 Nov, 2023: National Lutheran Choir at Normandale Lutheran Church, Edina, MN
- 03 Nov, 2023: National Lutheran Choir at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, St. Paul, MN
- 04 Jun, 2023: Musica Vocale at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, Kansas City, MO
- 12 Feb, 2023: Vokalsystem at Martin-Luther-Kirche, Berlin, Germany
- 11 Feb, 2023: Vokalsystem at Martin-Luther-Kirche, Berlin, Germany
- 12 Jun, 2022: Cordus Mundi at Trinity Episcopal Church, Solebury Township, PA
- 13 Feb, 2022: BBC Singers at Milton Court, Barbican Centre, London, UK
- 03 Dec, 2021: TCNJ's Chorale and College Choir at Mildred and Ernest E. Mayo Concert Hall, Ewing, NJ
- 03 Dec, 2021: UC Davis: The University Chorus at Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center, University of California - Davis, Davis, CA
- 30 Oct, 2021: TCNJ's Chorale at Mildred and Ernest E. Mayo Concert Hall, Ewing, NJ
- 29 Oct, 2021: TCNJ's Chorale at Mildred and Ernest E. Mayo Concert Hall, Ewing, NJ
- 12 Sep, 2021: Ensemble ARCANUM at St. Eduard, Neukölln, Berlin, Germany
- 11 Sep, 2021: Ensemble ARCANUM at Grunewaldkirche, Grunewald 1, Berlin, Germany
- 30 Jul, 2021: Hesperos at Westminster Abbey, London, UK
- 03 Jul, 2021: Hesperos Choir at St Paul's Church, London, England
- 13 Jun, 2021: First Inversion at Downtown United Presbyterian Church, Rochester, NY
- 03 May, 2020: Kantorei at The Saint Paul Seminary, Saint Paul, MN
- 02 May, 2020: Kantorei at Gethsemane Lutheran Church, Hopkins, MN
- 27 Oct, 2019: Richmond Concert Chorale at Saint Benedict Catholic Child, Richmond, VA
- 27 Oct, 2019: Kantorei at The Church of Christ the King, Minneapolis, MN
- 26 Oct, 2019: Richmond Concert Chorale at All Saints Episcopal Church, Henrico, VA
- 05 Oct, 2018: McNeese Chamber Singers at McNeese State University, Lake Charles, LA
- 27 May, 2018: Saint Louis Chamber Chorus at First Presbyterian Church of Kirkwood, St. Louis, MO