Description
The inspiration behind this piece was the sound of W.B. Yeats reading his nostalgic poem, The Lake Isle of Innisfree. After listening to Yeats’ recording many times, Stef reflected on what it was about his reading that made it so subtly moving (its near-regular rhythm? its repetitive lyricism?) and wondered how best to produce a musical setting worthy of such affecting but utterly unpretentious words, without parodying the distinctive musicality of Yeats’ reading. The goal became to create a similarly reflective, wistful atmosphere without directly copying Yeats’ sound – producing comparable affect without imitating the specificities of delivery. After recording several of her own readings of the poem, with entirely personal timing and intonation, Stef settled on a version that seemed to stimulate similar emotions. Creating the musical setting of this new reading was a process of stretching it horizontally, to lengthen speech rhythms into musical ones, and vertically, to heighten speech contours into melodic gestures, before colouring the delivery with sensitive but unusual harmonisation. The result is a simple, gentle setting, made up of intuitively ‘singable’ lines, sitting comfortably in mid-register, which is, however, not without juicy challenges – some unusual harmonic shifts and rhythmic independence between parts will demand patient rehearsal and individual practice. The piece is suitable for student and leisure-time choirs of all abilities (as well as professional ensembles), who are willing to spend a little time working on the small number of challenging phrases.
The Crucial Info
Forces: SSATB
Duration: c. 5′
Text: The Lake Isle of Innisfree by William Butler Yeats
Date of composition: 2015
Premiere: ‘Yeats off the Page’ festival, Everlasting Voices ensemble (dir. William Brooks)
Other performances: York Late Music Festival, ‘Humanist Happening’, Murray Edwards College, Cambridge.
Listen
Perusal Score
Text
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.
Please contact Stef for more information and/or a license to perform this piece.