Score
Wonders : for soprano, baritone, 2 choirs and orchestra / Carl Vine ; words by Walt Whitman.
Library shelf no. Q 782.554/VIN 4 [Available for loan]
Work Overview
Wonders was commissioned by Sydney Philharmonia Choirs
as a concert companion for Vaughan Williams' renowned Sea
Symphony, and so uses similar forces with large choir and
two soloists. Like that work it also features text by Walt
Whitman, being a setting of his 1855 poem, 'Who learns my lesson
complete?', which was renamed 'Wonders' in the 1892 edition of
Leaves of Grass. (This substantial collection of poetry
also supplied the words for Vaughan Williams' symphony).
'Wonders' is a short poem in twenty-six lines of free verse. I
was drawn to it for its manifest humanism, its tangible though
irreligious spirituality and its powerful expression of communal
inclusivity. Although the text functions largely as a soliloquy,
its message is meant equally for all, and so in my setting is
passed between the soloists and the collective consciousness of
the two choirs - large and small. The soloists speak respectively
for the male and female principle of the original voice, while
the choirs echo the social sentiment of acceptance.
It is hard to not get swept up in the boundless beauty that the
poet finds in the simple things that surround us every day: from
one's eyesight, friendship and conversation up to the miracles of
childbirth and the unknowable extent of time and the universe. In
this concise statement the poet has encapsulated a comprehensive
holistic view of humankind and the way we should live together.
It is wonderful.
Carl Vine, June 2016
Work Details
Year: 2016
Instrumentation: Solo soprano, solo baritone, 2 SATB choirs (50-100 voice trained choir, and 200-400 voice “community” choir), piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets in Bb, bass clarinet in Bb, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in C, 2 tenor trombones, bass trombone, tuba, timpani, percussion (2 players), harp, strings.
Duration: 15 min.
Difficulty: Advanced
Commission note: Commissioned by Sydney Philharmonia Choirs.
First performance: by Penelope Mills, Chris Hillier, Sydney Youth Orchestra, Brett Weymark, Sydney Philharmonia Symphony Chorus, Sydney Philharmonia Festival Chorus at Carl Vine - Wonders (Sydney Opera House, Concert Hall) on 22 Sep 2016
Subjects
- In the form/style of: Cantatas
Performances of this work
3 Jun 2017: at Wonder (Llewellyn Hall ANU School of Music). Featuring Penelope Mills, National Capital Orchestra, Leonard Weiss, Canberra Choral Society Chorus, Chris Hillier.
24 Sep 2016: at Carl Vine - Wonders (Sydney Opera House, Concert Hall). Featuring Sydney Youth Orchestra, Penelope Mills, Chris Hillier, Brett Weymark, Sydney Philharmonia Symphony Chorus, Sydney Philharmonia Festival Chorus.
22 Sep 2016: at Carl Vine - Wonders (Sydney Opera House, Concert Hall). Featuring Chris Hillier, Sydney Philharmonia Festival Chorus, Sydney Philharmonia Symphony Chorus, Penelope Mills, Brett Weymark, Sydney Youth Orchestra.
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