Instrumentation: cel - harp - strings
Difficulty: Intermediate (Grade 3)
Duration: ca. 4.5 minutes
Program Note: It was my friend Brett Nelson who first came to me with a request for music—something for string orchestra—to be played by his school at the 79th Midwest Clinic. I knew at once what I should offer: a new setting of “Hymn to the Birds.”
This hymn is but one chapter from the larger story Tales from the Aviary, a work born of my quiet wanderings in local botanic gardens and my hope to preserve the many kinds of birds now threatened by our world’s changing climate.
In this part of the tale, the hero has just escaped from a shadowy old aviary on the back of a great albatross. The flight ends at a set of high cliffs where birds of every sort begin to gather. As the sun sets, the birds sing to one another. Mothers teach to their hatchlings the family songs. At last they turn to the newcomer, who offers this hymn in reply.
Document Sizes: Score is formatted for printing on A3 size paper, and parts for A4, though these technically could be printed on any size paper. Popular substitutions may be Tabloid (11”x17”) and Letter (8.5”x11”) size paper, respectively.
Instrumentation: cel - harp - strings
Difficulty: Intermediate (Grade 3)
Duration: ca. 4.5 minutes
Program Note: It was my friend Brett Nelson who first came to me with a request for music—something for string orchestra—to be played by his school at the 79th Midwest Clinic. I knew at once what I should offer: a new setting of “Hymn to the Birds.”
This hymn is but one chapter from the larger story Tales from the Aviary, a work born of my quiet wanderings in local botanic gardens and my hope to preserve the many kinds of birds now threatened by our world’s changing climate.
In this part of the tale, the hero has just escaped from a shadowy old aviary on the back of a great albatross. The flight ends at a set of high cliffs where birds of every sort begin to gather. As the sun sets, the birds sing to one another. Mothers teach to their hatchlings the family songs. At last they turn to the newcomer, who offers this hymn in reply.
Document Sizes: Score is formatted for printing on A3 size paper, and parts for A4, though these technically could be printed on any size paper. Popular substitutions may be Tabloid (11”x17”) and Letter (8.5”x11”) size paper, respectively.
