When Music Sounds
For SATB with singing bowls and piano
Composition: When Music Sounds
Ensemble: Madison Chamber Choir
Conductor: Dr. Kevin Kriegel
Sheet Music
Available for SATB with singing bowls and piano. To purchase sheet music, contact Zach.
Music
When music sounds, gone is the earth I know,
And all her lovely things even lovelier grow;
Her flowers in vision flame, her forest trees
Lift burdened branches, stilled with ecstasies.
When music sounds, out of the water rise
Naiads whose beauty dims my waking eyes,
Rapt in strange dreams burns each enchanted face,
With solemn echoing stirs their dwelling-place.
When music sounds, all that I was I am
Ere to this haunt of brooding dust I came;
And from Time's woods break into distant song
The swift-winged hours, as I hasten along.
- Walter de la Mare
Composer Notes:
In the fall of 2021 I was commissioned by Dr. Kevin Kriegel and the Madison Chamber Choir to write a piece in honor of Michael Peterson, a former member of 27 years, who had passed away. The poem was Walter de la Mare's, "Music," which speaks of the healing power of music.
To capture the healing power of music, I chose to include singing bowls. Upon doing some research of singing bowls, I learned that the seven main pitches represent the seven major Chakras of the human body. When these pitches sound, they are to assist in mending those specific chakras. I specifically chose the pitches F and C, because they represent the heart and core. There is something transformative about singing bowls and music. I hope that this piece may provide some level of comfort to anyone struggling in life.
