Herbert Howells: God Be In My Head
For SATB unaccompanied chorus, edited by Patrick Russill."This seventeen-bar miniature was, according to the owner of the autograph, ?written by Dr Howells in some spare minutes before the end of a theory lesson at the Royal College of Music in June 1966?. We shall never know whether the composer himself would have wanted to see it in print, but now that it is, many choirs will surely rejoice and welcome it into their repertoires. Though it looks on paper barely more taxing to sing than a hymn-tune, the harmonies require singers who can pitch dissonant notes with confidence and who have fairly wide ranges. The irregular metre gives the music an expressive flexibility, but this, too, presents challenges. It is in the final phrase that the hand of a master is revealed, with an exquisite darkening of the harmony at ?God be at mine end . . .? and a final cadence that is quintessential Howells." - RSCM Reviews
