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At last - songs the boys in your choir will enjoy! This cantata by Scottish composer Tom Cunningham certainly ticks all the boxes when it comes to finding music for boys which is fun and chorally satisfying.
Commissioned by NYCoS, with words by Paul Wigmore and Derek Roberts, this is a series of seven songs, one for each day of the week, interspersed with short narrative sections.
The ascending melodic line at the opening of the first song, The Sun, reflects the sun's rising and creates a fine sense of anticipation for what is to come. My upper junior choir loved the exotic language and syncopated rhythms, which make for a great opener. By contrast, Moondays is indeed a "beautiful blue moon tune" with a relaxed blues swing and a melancholy air as the singer sings to his friend the moon. Though largely two-part, this song would work equally well in unison. Tuesday?s song, How Tiu Lost His Arm, is a pacy narrative saga in compound time telling a gory, Nordic tale; lots of opportunity here for dramatic singing with changes of mood, tempo and dynamics. "Can we sing it again" clamoured my Year 6 boys! Wodin, King of the Norse gods and the shape-changer is depicted perhaps rather prosaically, though with some exciting hand-to-hand two part fighting in the middle section. Thursday's song, The Great God Thor, whose success prompted the commissioning of the rest of the cantata, is a whirling ride reminiscent of the Valkyries, while Freya, the goddess of beauty and war has a gentle two-part melody interspersed with a unison, war-like section. The need to finish on a high means that Saturn is not the grim reaper, but full of swung joie de vivre.
Witty and informative narratives are coupled with well-crafted songs in a variety of styles. Accompaniments require an averagely competent pianist; those of us who work in schools as the lone musician might well welcome a rehearsal CD.
If you are looking for something new for that end-of-term concert this cantata has much to offer children in upper-KS2/lower-KS3. Try it! I am certainly going to.
Review by Joy Crisp taken from 'Music Teacher' Magazine, April 2007.
Rating:  [5 of 5 Stars!] |
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