JOHN BURGE

by John Burge

SA with piano and optional wind chimes – CP 2372 – 5:00

The Wind was commissioned by the Florida All State Elementary Choir for a premiere in January, 2013 during a concert conducted by Earlene Rentz.  The work is a setting of a three-verse poem by Robert Louis Stevenson for SA choir, piano and optional wind chimes.  The poem beautifully captures a child’s view of the wind as an invisible entity that is mysterious in its motivation and in its demonstration of both subtle and powerful effects on the landscape.  The singers are asked to generate wind-like vocalizations at times thereby creating a sonic image to match the words.  These moments can be further accentuated by the use of a few wind chimes.

Performance Notes:

The vocalizations marked “sh” are to sound like wind and can be achieved if the undetermined pitch rises during the crescendos and falls during the diminuendos.  Some singers could even add some soft whistling sounds.  The wind-like vocalizations do not need to follow the rhythmic indications exactly and the conductor may want to sculpt the effects instead of beating time.  The overlapping wind effects and final canon will sound best if the Sopranos and Altos are placed on either side of the stage. The use of a number of different wind chimes (glass and metal being preferred for their resonance) would work best if these were suspended on a rod and placed between the Sopranos and Altos.  The wind chimes should be allowed to reverberate freely and may continue to echo into the next section but should not dominate the musical fabric too much.