ALLAN BEVAN, CANADIAN COMPOSER
Three Motets on Texts of Henry Vaughan4/21/2022
Vaughan's somewhat erratic tendency to discard traditional structures is realized in an emotive, forward-looking poetic style. Allan Bevan has capitalized on these creative liberties, fusing present-day harmonies and point-of-imitation textures in unaccompanied settings.
"The Eclipse" begins with lower voices in a divided quasi-cantus firmus pattern. The imitative upper voices share an oblique four-note motive, eventually passing to all voices. The texture changes mid-rhyme, utilizing duetting, duet fragments passed among multiple voices, and imitation. The imitation becomes pervasive at the outset of the closing rhyme, returning finally to the oblique motion and treble-dominant texture. Range, tessitura, and rhythms are generally accessible, although basses are asked for a low C and an optional B below low C. "The Revival" divides naturally into three sections. The opening third follows a pattern of treble-voice melodies adding male voices only at the cadences. Bevan then spends almost the entire second section on two lines of text, tossing the eighth-note melody back and forth in duets and trios, finally cadencing with soprano voices in imitation. The final section returns to the opening of the first movement an upper voice imitative trio with an underlay of lower voices moving in slower, cantus firmus-like fashion. The final movement of the set, "Peace," was published prior to the first two movements, and was selected as the 2002 winner of the Ruth Watson Henderson award. One of the unifying characteristics of the set is its use of duetting, and that feature is certainly emblematic in Peace, as well as the use of text painting and imitation in upper and lower voice pairs and trios, a hint of the opening oblique motion, and a hint of the treble-dominant texture. This set succeeds in its collaboration of strong sacred texts, motet-like features, and contemporary harmonies. Intonation within the relaxed tempos of each piece will require work. These will be of interest separately or as a set to mature high school and college choirs. The web site [classica Music Publishers] offers a discounted pricing for the set, and offers sound clips of the first and final movements".
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For additional information, please view Allan Bevan's Composer Showcase on the Canadian Music Centre website.
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