Without question, sacred texts comprise the vast majority of poetry set to choral music. We don’t know what sort of words are most frequently scored from the body of secular works, but certainly the topic of romantic love has to be near the top of the list.
Bach composed a work about coffee, for Mozart it was a magic flute, and Copland covered cats. All of them, though, also addressed the issue of romantic love.
Most folks, at some point in their life, fall in love. It seems a great global unifier; one might not necessarily understand a particular language, but the actions the bespeak tenderness between two people have a certain universality. It’s a particular energy, a soft look in the eyes, a smile reserved for that special person.
Poets have been expressing their thoughts on love for as long as quill pen could be put to parchment. Poetry that bespeaks remarkable, arching passion has flowed from such hearts and minds as those of Lord Byron (“She walks in beauty“), William Shakespeare (“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”) and Garcilaso de la Vega (“Amor di mi alma”) to name only a few. Many of those profound expressions have been set for the chorus, a vehicle that seems particularly well-suited to such poetry.
One example of a choral setting of romantic prose is this excerpt from a recent ACDA conference. The opening words of The Passionate Shepherd to his Love by the Renaissance-era poet Christopher Marlowe are well-known: “Come live with me and be my love, and we shall all the pleasures prove.”
Listen. Enjoy. Be moved. Then bring home flowers!
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