Songs from Carol Barnett & Christine Donkin

Explore the songs of 

Carol Barnett & Christine Donkin!

• The air takes on color and form with fluttering wings and dappling leaves in Barnett’s “The King of Yellow Butterflies” and Donkin’s “Autumn Colours in the Canal“.
• Hallowed ground and holy words resonate in Donkin’s “In Flanders Fields” and Barnett’s “Adonai, Adonai” (both accessible for many voices at a lower difficulty rating).
• Two art songs let solo voices dazzle in Barnett’s “Longing for Home” and Donkin’s “Three Cummings Settings“.

The King of Yellow Butterflies

For SATB div. a cappella
Difficulty: 3
Duration: less than 3 min.

Vachel Lindsay’s poem “The King of Yellow Butterflies” is subtitled “a poem game;” the musical setting is a kind of game as well, a game of skill, full of tongue-twisting, deft turns for the singers. Word painting is used in the setting of “shiver,” “whimper,” and “each pool is like a looking glass,” where the vocal lines make a mirror image. The work as a whole should leave a hovering, insubstantial impression, like a cloud of butterflies.

Autumn Colours in the Canal

For SSAA & Piano
Difficulty: 4
Duration: 3-5 min.

“Autumn Colours in the Canal” is like a musical diorama of a fall day. The flowing piano in 12/8 time suggests waving tree branches soaked in color. Donkin treats color names as word-sounds themselves, intensifying the imagery. The harmonic language is mostly diatonic, making it relatively easy to learn. The four voice parts (SSAA) will challenge and delight your treble choir.

In Flanders Fields (TTBB)

For TTBB a cappella choir
Also for SATB a cappella choir
Difficulty: 2
Duration: less than 3 min.

The simplicity of this expressive, homophonic, hymn-like setting allows the listener to focus on the beauty of the well-known text (which was penned by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae during World War I). Scored in unaccompanied four-part harmony throughout, this piece is appropriate for high school, college, or community choirs.

Adonai, Adonai

Round for a cappella choir. Unison to 4-part performances possible.
Difficulty: 2
Duration: 3-5 min.

Often used for Jewish High Holy Days, this hauntingly modal canon is
appropriate year-round. Surprisingly fast to learn, this setting gives your choir a taste of an ancient sonic tradition that continues into the present.

“Adonai”, the name of God in Hebrew, is properly used only when recited as a prayer; in all other contexts, the word “Adoshem” is substituted. But this text is itself a prayer, whatever the context, and so there is a choice.

Longing for Home (Full Cycle)

For Mezzo-soprano, Baritone, & Piano
Difficulty: 3
Duration: 10+ min.

The essence of home, so deeply embedded in us, calls us back to meet again in the old familiar places.

Three Cummings Settings

For High voice & Piano
Difficulty: 4
Duration: 5-10 min.

Charming and delightful with elegant lines for the voice and piano.

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