Choral SATB Choir and
Piano
SKU:
CF.CM9740
Composed by
Mark Burrows. 16 pages.
Duration 4 minutes, 22
seconds. Carl Fischer
Music #CM9740. Published
by Carl Fischer Music
(CF.CM9740).
ISBN
9781491161203. UPC:
680160919789. Key: Bb
major. English. Siegfried
Sasson.
Everyone
suddenly burst out
singing; And I was filled
with such delight As
prisoned birds must find
in freedom... These
opening lines to Everyone
Sang by the British war
poet Siegfried Sassoon
feel as relevant today as
they did when the poem
was first published in
1919. It was after the
end of World War I and
these words capture so
much of the collective
exhilaration, relief, and
pure joy about the Great
War finally coming to an
end. And yet Sassoon
himself felt none of that
when he wrote this poem.
In his own words, he was
feeling dull-minded and
depressed. Perhaps his
time in the trenches was
still too recent. One of
the reasons the creative
arts are so powerful is
that a poet like Sassoon
(or a painter like Van
Gogh or a composer like
Mahler) can take their
own feelings of deep
sadness or pain and
transform them into
something beautiful, even
uplifting. Everyone Sang
is a celebration of the
promise that things can
get better, that there
are things worth looking
forward to. The
poem itself has so much
rhythm and musicality.
The appearance of
suddenly in the first
line of each verse gives
those verses a rush of
energy. Attention to the
crescendo in measure 7,
and again in measure 37,
from mf to f will help
the listener experience
that rush. There are
expressive opportunities
with so many of the
poet's bold choices of
action words - burst,
winging, and shaken. Then
there's alliteration - a
poetic device that can be
overdone, but Sassoon
strikes a wonderful
balance. Suddenly/singing
(measures 6-7 and 10-11)
Find/freedom (measure
21-22) Winging/wildly
(measure 23) Setting/sun
(measures 47-49)
Was/wordless (measures
65-75) Give these
alliterations just a hint
of emphasis (without
overdoing) to bring out
the natural rhythm of the
text. And just as
O is set apart in the
poem by punctuation, I
wanted the musical
setting - in measure 57 -
to honor that feeling of
wonder - ...O, but
Everyone Was a bird; and
the song was wordless;
the singing will Never be
done. Friends, there is
so much good ahead, so
much to be excited about.
May the singing never be
done.
Everyone
suddenly burst out
singingAnd I was filled
with such delightAs
prisoned birds must find
in freedom…These
opening lines to Everyone
Sang by the British war
poet Siegfried Sassoon
feel as relevant today as
they did when the poem
was first published in
1919. It was after the
end of World War I and
these words capture so
much of the collective
exhilaration, relief, and
pure joy about the
“Great Warâ€
finally coming to an end.
And yet Sassoon himself
felt none of that when he
wrote this poem. In his
own words, he “was
feeling dull-minded and
depressed.†Perhaps
his time in the trenches
was still too recent.One
of the reasons the
creative arts are so
powerful is that a poet
like Sassoon (or a
painter like Van Gogh or
a composer like Mahler)
can take their own
feelings of deep sadness
or pain and transform
them into something
beautiful, even
uplifting. Everyone Sang
is a celebration of the
promise that things can
get better, that there
are things worth looking
forward to. The poem
itself has so much rhythm
and musicality.The
appearance of
“suddenly†in
the first line of each
verse gives those verses
a rush of energy.
Attention to the
crescendo in measure 7,
and again in measure 37,
from mf to f will help
the listener experience
that rush.There are
expressive opportunities
with so many of the
poet’s bold
choices of action words
– burst, winging,
and shaken.Then
there’s
alliteration - a poetic
device that can be
overdone, but Sassoon
strikes a wonderful
balance.Suddenly/singing
(measures 6-7 and
10-11)Find/freedom
(measure
21-22)Winging/wildly
(measure 23)Setting/sun
(measures
47-49)Was/wordless
(measures 65-75)Give
these alliterations just
a hint of emphasis
(without overdoing) to
bring out the natural
rhythm of the
text. And just as
“O†is set
apart in the poem by
punctuation, I wanted the
musical setting –
in measure 57 - to honor
that feeling of wonder
–…O, but
EveryoneWas a bird; and
the song was wordless;
the singing willNever be
done. Friends, there
is so much good ahead, so
much to be excited
about.May the singing
never be done.
