The Ghost

SATB | Duration c. 3’30"

The Ghost  was commissioned by the Suffield High School Chamber Ensemble, conducted by Mary Di Roberts, for premiere performance in 2019.  This piece sets a remarkable poem of the same name by Walter de la Mare. One of the most compelling aspect of this poem is the way in which the author successfully fuses silence and motion, sorrow and rest, sadness and peacefulness. The music is written with this synergy in mind, with swelling musical moments giving way briefly to moments of silence, and oscillations between the major and minor forms of triads built on the same root notes. In general, The Ghost  should be sung softly and legato but with careful attention paid to negative space and rhythmic breathing.

Peace in thy hands,
Peace in thine eyes,
Peace on thy brow;
Flower of a moment in the eternal hour,
Peace with me now.

Not a wave breaks,
Not a bird calls,
My heart, like a sea,
Silent after a storm that hath died,
Sleeps within me.

All the night’s dews,
All the world’s leaves,
All winter’s snow
Seem with their quiet to have stilled in life’s dream
All sorrowing now.

- Walter De La Mare

Midi realization available on request.