Crossing " Bar. n i l o a l c a l a PERUSAL SCORE ONLY

Crossing " Bar n i l o a l c a l a PERUSAL SCORE ONLY

Crossing " Bar Sunset and evening star And one clear call for me And may there be no moaning of the bar, When I put out to sea, But such a tide as moving seems asleep, Too full for sound and foam, When that which drew from out the boundless deep Turns again home. Twilight and evening bell, And after that the dark And may there be no sadness of farewell, When I embark; For though from out our bourne of Time and Place The flood may bear me far, I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crossed the bar. Alfred, Lord Tennyson Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote Crossing the Bar in 1889, three years before his death. The inspiration came while waiting for a boat to cross the Solent to get to his home on the Isle of Wight. Tennyson directed that this poem should always be placed last in any collection of his work.

COMPOSER S NOTES I remember, as a young teenager, being deeply moved by my first encounter of Alfred, Lord Tennyson s iconic ode Crossing the Bar. The imagery it stirs up, the sense of peace it evokes, and the thoughts and questions it provokes remain to this day for me such a powerful, bright beacon in this journey we call life. I long, like many of us do, that at my last earthly breath, whenever that will be that there will only be peace, contentment, gratitude. The setting begins with cascading notes forming an aural backdrop for the sunset and evening star. The soothing, textless motif (solo soprano) is the essence of the one being summoned. It longs for no sorrow, no mourning: this desire is echoed by multiple voices like gentle waves of the sea. And just as the speaker longs for a tide that is full and unagitated, the choral setting proceeds to paint broad strokes of hymn-like chords. As the second half of the poem mirrors its first half, the choral setting almost seemingly (yet not exactly) mirrors the form/structure of its first half. This time this longing is expanded to a plaintive melody and echoed by several soloists and crescendos to a full, soaring tutti as the spirit PERFORMANCE NOTES diction - British English vowels preferred chanting - slowly - on given pitch and dynamic - each singer s pace is independent - repeat phrase as needed, except when indicated glissando - start exactly as indicated in the measure - when coming from a chant, chose any syllable within the given phrase that lands on that beat - sing the text provided on the landing note optional small notes - alternative notes/pitches if actual ones are too high or too low soloists - soloists on Rehearsal F can be done by a small group if performed by a large ensemble

NILO ALCALA s compositions and arrangements have been performed in Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. He is the first Philippine-born composer to receive the prestigious Copland House Residency Award (2017), and be commissioned and premiered by the Grammy-nominated Los Angeles Master Chorale at the Disney Concert Hall. Alcala s awards also include the POLYPHONOS Young Composer Award from The Esoterics (Seattle, WA), the 2nd Prize Asian Composers League Young Composer Award (Israel), Ani ng Dangal (Harvest of Honor) from the Philippine President, and IGNITE from the Choral Composers/Conductor Collective (C4). His commissions include the National Music Competition for Young Artists; Andrea O. Veneracion International Choral Festival; Korean Ministry of Culture; Asia-Europe Foundation; Aleron, Metro Manila Concert Orchestra, and Manila Symphony Orchestra. Alcala was composer-in-residence of the Philippine Madrigal Singers (UNESCO Artist for Peace) which premiered his works in international competitions such as the Florilege Vocal de Tours (France); the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing (Italy); and events including the American Choral Directors Association National Conference (Dallas, TX); the 9th World Symposium on Choral Music (Argentina); and America Cantat 7 (Colombia). An Asian Cultural Council grantee, Alcala is also a Billy Joel Fellow at Syracuse University where he earned an MMus in Composition and received the Irene L. Crocker Music Award. He holds a BM in Composition at the University of the Philippines, graduating Magna cum laude and recipient of Gawad Tsanselor Natatanging Mag-aaral Award (Chancellor's Outstanding Student Award). A versatile composer, Alcala also composes for visual media and has received film music nominations and awards in the Philippines. He recently scored Candlestick Park: The Beatles Last Concert a promotional short for Ron Howard s Grammy-winning film The Beatles: Eighth Days A Week. Alcala Serves as composer mentor for Pasadena Master Chorale s Listening to the Future composition program. His music is published by Walton Music (GIA Publishing) and See-a-dot. www.niloalcala.com @alcalanilo

PERUSAL SCORE

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PERUSAL SCORE