for: SSATB choir (with divisions), 2 Clarinets (or Basset Horns), 2 Bassoons, 2 Trumpets, 3 Trombones (2 Tenor or 1 Alto & 1 Tenor, & Bass), and Percussion (Cymbals & Triangle)
by
A setting of words by Shakespeare:
Full fathom five thy father lies;
Of his bones are coral made:
Those are pearls are were his eyes:
Nothing of him doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell:
Hark! now I hear them, - ding-dong, bell.
I had already drafted the opening of a piece for inclusion in a concert featuring Mozart's Requiem, using the same wind instruments, when one morning I found myself fitting the words Full fathom five thy father lies to it. From then on the words of the poem became the inspiration for the music, and the piece naturally became a choral one. The previously composed opening phrase, however, lent a quite different atmosphere from the one found in Shakespeare's play The Tempest, where the spirit Ariel actually sings the song in order to calm Ferdinand, whose father was thought to have been drowned at sea. In contrast, my setting starts in an dark, angry or defiant mood, and as well as attempting to express the richness of the imagery in the poem, includes some play on the sound of the words. Most of the piece is based on minor thirds and diminished chords, the latter a natural source of tension in music, but one which also gives colour.
After the opening fanfare, the brass set off with a contrapuntal section with the main theme in long notes on the bass trombone. This is followed by a more relaxed and flowing passage on the woodwind, but before long though the brass enter again, more menacingly, and the opening section climaxes in a wild frenzy. (Excerpt 1) The choir enter with a similar statement to the initial fanfare, heightened by instrumental discords. The whole song is then expounded by the choir, with each line of the poem like a small wave on the sea shore, each different in length and depth. The choir divides in up to seven note chords to express the richness of the imagery in the poem. After this, each line of the poem is given separate treatment, during which section some of the material from the instrumental section is heard again. The line Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell is given a longer working, with the basses chanting a descending bell-like figure over and over again under the other parts, giving a feeling of timelessness and perhaps a hint of ever-rolling sea waves. After the bells are heard, the choir reiterate the poem in full as a four-part canon. At the end of the canon, the happier sound of the major third is heard with the words Hark! now I hear them. A few short chords reminiscent of the opening lead us to the earlier instrumental section, but this takes a different course after being interrupted by the altos singing Hark! Hark! Suddenly the awfulness of the realisation that father is dead takes over and the choir almost shout the words Suffer! Suffer! before a dramatic climax and fall. A muted repeat (Excerpt 2) of the earlier choral verse brings us to a new section. In this faster section, the main theme is juxtaposed with an ostinato playing on the sound of the words Full fathom, of his bones, and fathom five. It is really a toccata based almost exclusively on diminished chords, with the tempo marked 'agitated'. The brass sustain the theme in augmentation along with the tenors and basses, whilst the woodwind provide the rhythmic drive together with the sopranos and altos. After a little relief with Hark! now I hear them again, a clarinet solo prepares us for the final 'burial at sea' when descending choir chords and woodwind melody disappear beneath the waves on their journey to the deep.
Full Fathom Five received its first performance on Saturday 17th April 2004 by Feltham Choral Society.
Excerpt 1 - instrumental opening
Excerpt 2 - muted repeat of choral verse
(Excerpts played by the Garritan Personal Orchestra. Organ is choir substitute as Garritan has no choir as yet...)
Please address all enquiries about this piece to philipbuckmaster@msn.com