by Alex Bradshaw
Episode
25 - Theme - Beauty in lockdown
Welcome
to the 25th podcast of music for mindfulness. In this series, we will be trying
to choose music to help soothe the soul and stimulate the mind in these times
of trouble.
(image by: Stef (Unsplashed))
All
tracks and albums featured will be added to the PGS Music Mindfulness playlists
on Spotify and Apple Music: please click on the accompanying links for further
information.
In this episode we will be taking a look at “For the beauty of the earth”, composed by John Rutter - a British composer born in 1945. John Rutter studied music at Clare College, Cambridge and first came to notice as a composer and arranger of Christmas carols and other choral pieces during those early years; today his compositions, including such concert-length works as Requiem, Magnificat, and Visions are performed around the world. John edits the Oxford Choral Classics series, and, with Sir David Willcocks, co-edited four volumes of Carols for Choirs. In 1983 he formed his own choir The Cambridge Singers, with whom he has made numerous recordings on the Collegium Records label including our song today, and he appears regularly in several countries as a guest conductor and choral ambassador. John holds a Lambeth Doctorate in Music, and was awarded a CBE for services to music in 2007
Rutter's music is eclectic,
showing the influences of the French and English choral traditions of the early
20th century as well as of light music and American classic songwriting. Almost
every choral anthem and hymn that he writes has a subsequent orchestral
accompaniment in addition to the standard piano/organ accompaniment, using
various different instrumentations such as strings only, strings and woodwinds
or full orchestra with brass and percussion.
The piece was originally
orchestrated for a full choir (SATB), two flutes, two clarinets, oboe, bassoon,
two horns, percussion, harp and strings. The
piece is set in 2/2, begins in B-flat major and is marked to be sung
"Happily". This already gives a strong indication that this will be
an uplifting song. It begins with a flowing introduction achieved through an
arpeggiated melody on the flute and harp, backed by the strings. The sopranos
enter, singing a long lyrical melody. The melody follows the text, first
upwards reaching an octave on the word “earth”. The melody then continues
diatonically, before reaching its climactic moment on the lyrics "Lord of
all, to thee we raise" before resolving nicely to finish each verse. In
the choral version, the men's voices enter in unison in the second
verse. In the third verse, focused on human relationships, the men sing the
melody with the women adding a descant melody. In the final verse, the melody
is given to the altos, with a high counterpoint in sopranos and violin. This classic Rutter anthem has now been adapted by the composer for
performance by male-voice choirs and piano or organ. The flowing choral
melodies perfectly complement the positive message of the well-known text by F.
S. Pierpoint, and the gentle, arpeggiated keyboard part provides a supportive
harmonic accompaniment.
In a 2009 interview, Rutter
discussed his understanding of "genius" and its unique ability to
transform lives – whether that genius is communicated in the form of music or
other media. He likened the purity of music to that of mathematics and
connected the two with a reference to the discovery made by the early Greeks
that frequencies of harmonic pitches are related by whole-number ratios.
Title: For
The Beauty Of The Earth
Release date: 1994
Genre: Classical
PGS Music Mindfulness playlist on Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3kxqgRUYZFiezgEZEmgVM6?si=dJPaau9KQLe2gNsgGQINnw
PGS Music for Mindfulness playlist on iTunes: https://music.apple.com/gb/playlist/pgs-music-for-mindfulness/pl.u-eVPxLT17p85
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