By Hannah Brine
Poetry is life distilled: the importance, to me, of poetry in choral music
On National Poetry Day, I’ve been thinking about the importance of poetry to me as a songwriter, and as a leader of choirs.
Poetry and choral music are deeply intertwined, with some of the most loved choral works setting poetry to music. In the cases where these works have become popular standards, the composer has cleverly combined the power of a poet’s words with the colour and texture of vocal harmony.
One of my personal favourites is Christina Rossetti’s In the Bleak Midwinter. The poem’s opening lines “frosty wind made moan” and “earth stood hard as iron” are both stark and powerful. There is no doubt as to the season. Gustav Holst set In the Bleak Midwinter to music in 1906 but it still feels current today. Rossetti’s imagery clearly resonated with other composers as there are numerous other popular settings including those by Harold Darke and Bob Chilcott (the latter titled simply “Midwinter”). Benjamin Britten also harnessed the poem as part of the work, “A Boy Was Born” and Robert Walker’s beautiful and lyrical setting, which was recorded by Guildford Cathedral Choir under Barry Rose, is timeless. As a poet, Rossetti’s genius lay in her ability to evoke deep emotion with a few well-chosen words. The majority of her work, and also that of her brother Dante, has been widely popularized in choral settings.
When I’m conducting, there’s a palpable energy shift when a choir is passionate about a piece. I often receive requests from my choir members to perform The Seal Lullaby by Eric Whitacre. The words, written by Rudyard Kipling, are shaped with such care by Whitacre, creating a haunting and tender lullaby. The poem begins:
““Oh! hush thee, my baby,
The night is behind us,
And black are the waters that sparkled so green.
The moon, o’er the combers,
Looks downward to find us,
At rest in the hollows that rustle between.”
and we are gently rocked on the seas by the ebb and flow of the final
“ Asleep in the arms of the slow-swinging seas.
Asleep in the arms
Of the slow-swinging seas.”
to which Whitacre adds overlapping “Oos” as an outro to the piece.
More recently, Whitacre set the opening four lines (and solely those four lines) of William Blake’s Auguries of Innocence for the BBC Singers in his BBC Prom “Eternity in an Hour.”
“To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand,
And Eternity in an hour.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0022c68
Whitacre isn’t the only composer who masterfully intertwines poetry with music. Morten Lauridsen’s Sure on This Shining Night, based on James Agee’s lyrical poem, also offers a stunning example of how poetry can inspire deeply emotional music. Agee’s evocative text reads:
“Sure on this shining night
Of star-made shadows round,
Kindness must watch for me
This side the ground
On this shining night.”
Anyone who has sung this piece will feel those little goosebumps from just reading that text, and imagining the rise and fall of Lauridsen’s musical lines. It is absolutely magical and, in my opinion, one of the most striking pieces of contemporary choral music.
Beyond the classical poetry of Rossetti, Blake, and Agee, I’m also deeply fond of contemporary poets such as Buddy Wakefield, Jessica Boatright & John McCullough. Buddy Wakefield’s spoken word performances, such as this onecapture raw emotion with intense vulnerability.
John McCullough’s poetry is equally powerful, though his work often takes a more reflective tone. His poems, found on his website, explore themes of identity, longing, and human connection. In many ways, these contemporary poets share the same goal as composers: to move, to challenge, and to stir feelings.
I collaborated with Jessica Boatright, and arranger Jennifer Watson,on our piece Earth Prayer, which was written in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic and was almost poem-like before being set to music. This song reflects hope and togetherness, and the power to change who we are to make the world a better place.
Through choral music, poetry becomes something more than words. Those words are transformed into soundscapes, images, almost, which come to life. Whether it’s the classic beauty of Blake, the stark imagery of Rossetti, or the raw emotion of modern poets like Buddy Wakefield; poetry and choral music together offer an extraordinary way to communicate, celebrate, and share the power of words.
Do you have any favourite poems, or poems set to music? I’d love to know.
With love, Hannah