Shepherd's Lullaby

I wrote this piece ten years ago, but have just made a new multitrack recording of the parts, so I thought I would share it here.  Yes, you are correct.  The bass line is being sung by an alto dropped down a well.  (GarageBand makes it possible for me to sing all the parts, but I have to use the transpose feature to record the lowest bass notes, which creates a little distortion to the sound quality).  

The sheep is a genius of place;

why would she stray?

Here is the homeland. Here, her mother's house.

Feed my sheep. Lead them home. Let them rest.

Sisters, all among the hills, chanting their Daily Office:

"There the rain licks into little pools. There, a dip to hide new lambs."

"Take my coat," she said. "You are a guest."

Hi Maggie @pateceramics!

Oh I love your rhythmic variety here, like the triplets in b.25 or more obviously the 3+3+2 pattern throughout the piece. I also love your harmonies here, those parallel 8ves and 5ths work really well under this context and atmosphere and D flat major, making the music purer and more peaceful! Thx for sharing!

Henry

12 hours ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

Hi Maggie @pateceramics!

Oh I love your rhythmic variety here, like the triplets in b.25 or more obviously the 3+3+2 pattern throughout the piece. I also love your harmonies here, those parallel 8ves and 5ths work really well under this context and atmosphere and D flat major, making the music purer and more peaceful! Thx for sharing!

Henry

 

Thanks so much, Henry!  I know that parallel 5ths and octaves aren't harmonically exciting when one is looking for independence of line, but that wasn't what I wanted for this piece.  I wanted a sense of rain-washed green hills with clear air above, dotted with sheep all saying their prayers to the land together like little nuns.  So homophony made sense, and open harmonies, with the sopranos floating above like birds taking in the scene below.  And since that could be a bit boring, particularly given the repetition in the text, some changes in rhythmic emphasis seemed wise.  The tricky bit is remembering to read ahead so you actually do them, but thankfully, the conductor doesn't have too much to do, so they can free an arm to dictate triplets and other patterns if people are watching.  

Thank you for your thoughts and I'm glad you enjoyed it!

-Maggie