While the key signature says E major, the addition of A sharp makes it sound in E Lydian. The piece is simple but effective. The women in choir learned it quickly. It is easy to make this song expressive and Josh sets up the build of the piece really well. Important words are easy to move into and hear because of the way he set it.
The form is ABA'B'A Coda. The ladies memorized it quickly and there are so many concepts one could address in this piece. It really has many teachable concepts. I will not go into detail of how to teach them, but here are just a few concepts one could address: Vowel modification, color, expressive following of the conductor, word stress, intonation/listening, legato, contrasting dynamics, and supported singing through a diminuendo. I have found that this piece lends itself well to may healthy vocal concepts.
I knew Josh, although not well, in undergrad. I still remember enjoying his senior recital immensely. And it is pretty obvious that he understands how to write for voices. He was not a composition major in undergraduate, but he studied voice and music education. I think it is evident in his writing he understands what voices can and cannot do.
Text:
I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.
I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of song?
Long, long afterward, in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroken;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.
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