Sowash: "Green Grow’th the Holly" ( Baritone)

Dear, loyal, lovable holly.  It stays green!  Ivy, too.  Like the cardinal, with us through the long winter.  

I remember the sudden, unexpected happiness I've felt when, standing at the window early on a winter morning, snug in my heavy socks, slippers and wool robe, fragrant steam rising from my coffee mug, I've glimpsed a bright red cardinal gracing the green ivy in our snowy courtyard.

"Hope, saith the holly," ends the traditional poem, attributed by some to Henry VIII:

Green grow'th the holly, so doth the ivy, 

though winter winds blow never so high, green grow'th the holly.

Full gold the harvest, grain for thy labor, 

with God must work for daily bread, else, man, thou starvest.

Fast fall the shed leaves, russet and yellow, 

resting buds are snug and safe  where swung the dead leaves.

Green grow'th the holly, so doth the ivy, 

the God of life can never die. Hope, saith the holly.

Plunging into winter, we appreciate being reminded to hope.  I came up with a nice tune for these words, scored it for chorus and piano, later rescoring it as a song for solo baritone.  It's a carol (though not a Christmas carol; the words are not about Christmas). I'd define a carol as a simple tune that is repeated without musical variation but with different lyrics each time.  Good tunes bear repeating; this is a good one.  

I tried to have the piano 'paint' the ideas the words express.  When the leaves are falling fast in the third verse, the piano sketches the scene in fluttering eighth notes.  Same for the bare branches, "where swung the dead leaves" expressed in chilly, gray and black octaves.

The song is short!  Two minutes, 16 seconds.  ...

To hear baritone Jose Rubio singing "Green Grow’th the Holly" with collaborative pianist Avedis Manoogian, click here:  

http://www.sowash.com/recordings/mp3/green_growth.mp3

To see a PDF of the score, click here:

http://www.sowash.com/recordings/mp3/green_growth.pdf

Some have asked, "Where did you find that wonderful baritone?"  Jose is an opera singer who lived in the apartment above ours for several years.  We often heard him vocalizing overhead.  He was happy to be asked to record all four of my Carols and he rendered them splendidly.

I'd love to know what you think about this music; feel free to reply if you're inclined.  But please don't feel that you are expected to reply.  I'm just glad to share my work with people who are interested.

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