Name: Bussey, Martin: The Cold Heaven
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Bussey, Martin: The Cold Heaven

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Arrangement: for soprano, recorder, oboe, violin and cello
Edition Type: score
Publisher: Composers Edition
Catalogue Number: ce-mb2tch1
Pages: 16
Date Published: 9th Nov 2020

W.B. Yeats’ poem focuses on dichotomies, for example ‘That seemed as though ice burned’. This seemed ideal as a text to set for the commissioned instrumental combination of soprano, recorder, oboe, violin and ‘cello. The setting was composed in 2019 for the CD ‘Songs for Sir John’ in tribute to Sir John Manduell, on the Divine Art record label.

Yeats’ two sentences (the first very long) provoke a rhetorical, often dramatic vocal line. The accompaniment alternates between contrapuntal, angular lines and an insistent staccato figure. The poem’s conflicts seem resolved by a calm ending, although this in fact represents an unresolved question about the afterlife. Both the vocal line and instrumental writing are technically demanding but recurring patterns in the parts aid assimilation of the music.

The piece was recorded by Lesley-Jane Rogers, soprano; John Turner, recorder; Richard Simpson, oboe; Benedict Holland, violin; and Nicholas Trygstad, cello and can be accessed here:

A scrolling score version is available here:

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