Publisher: Novello & Co
commissioned by the Crouch End Festival Chorus
Rainer Maria Rilke
Novello & Co Ltd
Chorus a cappella / Chorus plus 1 instrument
2 antiphonal SATB choirs
I have often found that the context around the commissioning of a new work can have a profound and decisive effect on the finished composition. Knowing that Brahms' Schicksalslied was to be in the same programme drew me to Friedrich Hölderlin and the dark, introspective sound world of Brahms' choral music, particularly pieces like Nänie and the late a cappella Rückert settings. I first considered using a Hölderlin text but was finally drawn to the wonderfully rich and sombre autumnal imagery of Rainer Maria Rilke's Herbsttag. The poem was written in Paris on 21st September 1902. I set the text during mid to late September 1993. It is written for two antiphonal SATB choirs.
© Simon Bainbridge