Three Simple Songs

Reflections On a Simple Melody

Gwyneth Walker: Let The Life I've Lived Speak For Me (SATB)

The traditional text with spiritual roots has been adapted by the composer. With an unadorned melody set in a simple but beautiful musical language with open, transparent harmonies, this music can be sung well by groups of many different abilities and in many situations. Duration: 3:00.

Gwyneth Walker: Let The Life I've Lived Speak For Me (SSAA)

The traditional text with spiritual roots has been adapted by the composer. With an unadorned melody set in a simple but beautiful musical language with open, transparent harmonies, this music can be sung well by groups of many different abilities and in many situations. Duration: 3:00.

Gwyneth Walker: Let The Life I've Lived Speak For Me (TTBB)

The traditional text with spiritual roots has been adapted by the composer. With an unadorned melody set in a simple but beautiful musical language with open, transparent harmonies, this music can be sung well by groups of many different abilities and in many situations. Duration: 3:00.

A Quiet Alleluia

This piece was composed for my close friend Walter Roach. He asked for a piece for his dear wife Debbie, who was in the last months of her life. I composed it with her in mind, and fortunately she got to hear it sung. Musically, it is basically a simple and flowing melodic piece. Compared with some of the more majestic and powerful pieces that have been written on this text, this work is really a quiet meditation and prayer.

Et in terra pax

Et in terra pax is a choral meditation on the dream of peace on Earth, coupled with the realities which constantly threaten such a dream. The work begins with a simple homophonic prayer. The middle section features a more agitated theme, indicating fear from enemies. This section culminates in a powerful supplication for strength and aid. The opening music returns, emboldened by a repeated plea which reaches an apex of sheer serenity. The final moments echo the continuous hope of peace on earth. -Thomas Juneau   Duration: 3:30

Were You There?

This new arrangement focuses on the inherent drama of the text. Each verse expresses a different reaction to its question about the crucifixion. The piano accompaniment, which plays a featured role in this music, varies with the mood of the lyrics—from simple chordal support at the beginning, to harsh rhythms (“nailed him to the cross”), to rapid “sunburst” patterns (“the sun refused to shine”), to sorrowful descending lines (“laid him in the tomb”). The choral expression is articulated in similar manner to the accompaniment. Duration: 4:30

The Morning Train: 3. Maid of Constant Sorrow

A familiar American folk song is "A Man of Constant Sorrow." Adaptations exist for a maid of constant sorrow as well. This is a very simple melody, placed in the key of C major. The message is a mournful one. The soul is troubled, and not at rest. "All through this world, I'm bound to ramble...perhaps I'll take the very next train." Then, later, "perhaps I'll die upon this train." Some comfort is taken with the lines "I know we'll meet on God's Golden Shore." But the life on this earth is one of constant sorrow. Duration: 2:30.

She Walks in Beauty : From Love Shall Live Forever

Part of the collection Love Shall Live Forever. "She Walks in Beauty" begins with a piano introduction allowing time to enter the poetic world of Lord Byron. A simple melody is accompanied by steady, walking rhythms. Although the original poem speaks only of the woman (beloved)- reverently, objectively- this new interpretation inserts a verse to include the man (lover), thus creating a love song for a couple. He walks in courage...they walk in beauty, O love! The piece concludes with a quote from the Song of Solomon (Set Me As A Seal). Duration: 3:00

If Ye Love Me

If Ye Love Me was composed as a reflective commentary on the well-known motet by Thomas Tallis (1505 1585). Homophony predominates in the first section but with clusters rather than the traditional harmonies used by Tallis. Later, the texture reduces to a very simple four-voice contrapuntal texture as a brief reference to Tallis’ style. The chorus then divides into two groups with one group continuing the counterpoint which is now expanded into a more active and complex style. The second group of voices returns to the homophonic style, but now in widely expanded harmonies. Thus, the motet concludes with homophony and counterpoint sounding simultaneously. Duration: 2:00