About the piece

“The sea is calm tonight.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits; on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!
Only, from the long line of spray…”

A contemplative and wistful setting of the opening of Matthew Arnold’s “Dover Beach” The polyphonic setting mirrors the relentless churning of the ocean, jumbles the text and creates new meaning.

Instrumentation

SATB Chorus

Duration

3 minutes 30 seconds

year written

2004

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