Whispered syllables and expressive sounds represent the energy of the sun in this creative original – a jubilant celebration of energy and a reminder of the light that resides without and within us all. For treble double choir, this exciting piece utilizes a thick choral texture of overlapping lines and simple body percussion for added drama.
Text: Catherine Dalton
Mod-Advanced
SSAA Premiere: Aurora Chorus, Joan Szymko, director
TTBB Premiere: Cantus
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A popular piece for high school through professional treble choirs, I begin writing She Rises because I was interested in exploring the physics of light and the mystery of illumination through the power of the human voice. I began by imagining what electrons falling from higher to lower energy levels, emitting light in the process, would sound like if made by the human voice. For a few weeks, I walked around making different “sun sounds” and asking other people what they thought the sun “sounded” like.
I was surprised while I was working on the piece to have a Celtic-style melody come to me and I wondered if it was part of the same composition or a new one. I “googled” Celtic Sun Goddess and, of course, found the Celtic sun goddess, Brigid. This melody inspired the lyrics for She Rises which speak of Brigid as she crosses the sky and of Saint Brigid of Kildare, the Irish saint of, among other things, poetry, the hearth fire, the forge and illumination. A jubilant celebration of energy, She Rises is a reminder of the light that resides within us and around us.
Text
She rises up from the heather.
Her flame in hand, she crosses the sky.
When she’s tired she lays down her head.
In the sweet heather, she makes her bed.
All night we tend to her flame,
her sacred light, eternal and bright.
When she wakes, she’ll open her eyes.
Then up from the heather, she’ll again rise.
She flames the poet’s pen,
fires the forge and hearth,
lights the fire within.
A very popular piece for high school through professional treble choirs, She Rises is jubilant celebration of energy and a reminder of the light that resides within us and around us. “Sun sounds” and foot percussion set the stage for a Celtic melody which speaks of the sun goddess Brigid and Saint Brigid of Kildare, the Irish saint of, among other things, poetry, the hearth fire, the forge and illumination.
Bowling Green State University Men’s Chorus, Richard Schnipke, director at the 2022 American choral Directors Association (ACDA) Midwestern Region Conference
SSAA double choir
Aurora Chorus, Joan Szmyko, conductor (Portland, OR) – World Premiere
University of Northern Iowa Women’s Choir, Amy Kotsonis, conductor (European Tour; Cedar Falls, IA)
Germantown Friends Middle School Choir and Madrigal, Anne Hess, director (Philadelphia, PA)
Iowa Choral Directors Association State Conference, Reading Session (Pella, IA)
See Change Treble Choir, Amy Johnson, director (St. Paul, MN)
Critical Acclaim
“‘She Rises’ by Catherine Dalton combines an evocative Celtic melody with vocal and foot percussion reminiscent of the ancient primal pulse of the bodhrán and bones.” Lauri D. Goldenhersh, Singerpreneur, March 28, 2014
“Seeing the Divine in All”…could be said to be a thread that ran through the entire concert, never more bracingly than when former Cantus member Aaron Humble’s arrangement of “Still, Still, Still” gave way to an inspired Connie Wanek poem about motherhood (“Long Nights”) and a fierce Catherine Dalton song of maternal strength, “She Rises.” – Ron Hubbard, St. Paul Pioneer Press, Dec 13, 2018
A powerful and energetic piece with Celtic flavors, this score is meant to remind us of the light within each person. Although the double choir voicing looks daunting, conductors of advanced high school treble ensembles (as well as collegiate and community treble choirs) should take a serious look at this score. There is unison singing, stomping, vocal effects, and dramatic melodic figures. The teaching possibilities of this work are vast and students will be engaged in this work at every step. Hear a recording and see a score at www.jwpepper.com as well as the composer’s website. Matthew Culloton, Artistic Director, The Singers, ACDA-MN Pick 6
This is one of those pieces that I picked up at a conference 5 or 6 years ago, and have been wanting to do since. But I was always a little tentative about the combination of rhythm complexity and double choir together. Enter the pandemic. With shorter group rehearsals to allow for air change, and restrictions on practice room usage to one student only, my singers are doing more work on their own, outside of class, and away from each other. For my advanced group, one-on-a-part work makes a lot of sense this term.
I was initially hesitant to program this with only 9 students, but I played the piece for my singers and they were instantly hooked. To a one, they jumped at the chance for individual accountability and personal responsibility. And they loved the idea of something rhythmically challenging. (This semester’s advanced group is a unicorn – and I love them!)
It stretches me too, as a teacher. I’ve been solid at teaching them rhythmic music literacy in both simple and compound meter. But, I’ll be honest, I hadn’t pushed them to compound subdivision (and subdivision syncopation, and subdivision with dots), yet. Well, “yet” is here now. We started the semester with compound meter boot camp – flashcards, worksheets, echoing, dictation, composition cards, the whole bit. I told them we couldn’t open the music until we could perform all of the rhythmic components separately. And wow have they stepped up.
We had a rehearsal earlier this week where we ran down our worksheet of all the different subdivision permutations, and they nailed it. Then I promptly handed out the music, assigned one-per-part, and we started reading. Lots of prep work to get us to the point of “open and read,” but so worth it. We are still taking baby steps with Dorian mode, but we’re getting there!
But, enough about my teaching approach. Let’s talk about the song! I’ve long been a fan of Catherine’s work, and this piece is no exception. Its energetic and tuneful, and feels like its constantly coursing with life. There’s a Celtic style folded into the writing – both rhythmic and tonal.
The poetry, also written by Catherine, focuses on the life cycle of the Sun. There are section headings in the work for “Night is ending,” “The Sun Appears on the Horizon,” “The Height of the Day,” “Color Floods the Horizon,” and “The Sun Disappears.” Each section of music speaks (sings?) to that particular point in the day. You can feel, and hear, all the moments: shafts of light through clouds, blazing midday, the briefest of pink light on the horizon. But, do not be fooled. This piece is not just about the Sun. It’s about energy, and life, and illumination – including the light and strength we find within ourselves.
The topic is all the more poignant because this past week there have been particularly beautiful sunrises over the Blue Ridge mountains. Breathtakingly glorious. I anticipate asking my students, in a few weeks, to take some time to snap some photos of the sun at various points in the day, and then share. Then we can arrange the photos in the order we best think goes with the song. Who knows – maybe that will be the visual backdrop for a recording we can share at the end of term?
Mode. The piece is primarily in D Dorian, with the occasional Bb tossed in (making it standard D naturalminor). La minor has been a great option – la ti do re mi fi so la. Only one affected note. The choir was familiar with la-minor already, so the jump to Dorian has been fairly smooth. On the flipside, if you want to teach the pitches by rote, there is motivic repetition in terms of pitch patterns. So it sticks in the ear. (And there are part tracks available for purchase by third-party retailers, if you google.)
The double choir part. Truth be told, it’s not as scary as “SSAA/SSAA” might seem! There are a number of places in the piece that are traditional SA, or SSA, or SSAA, or even a few unison phrases. And in the double choir section, it is rare for a voice to be truly alone. Choir 1 S1/S2 might be similar. Or all sopranos, from both choirs, might be on the same rhythms, but different harmonic points of the chord.
This is an excellent lesson in analysis. Look up and down, who is your part paired with? Who sings the same pitches as you? The same rhythms? How long does that partnership last? When does it change? We did a little of that at our first handout of the music, just scanning up and down the staff, and I heard some “ohhh” moments. When they realize it isn’t as scary as 8-part looks. Think of it like a big group-dance number in a musical, or a courtly dance scene from Tudor England. Partners are changing constantly, but there’s a design and a purpose and an order to it. Plus, many of the motives in the big double choir section are phrases that have been heard before in the piece, so it’s not all new material.
The piece itself also has some intermittent vocal percussion – some rhythmic consonants and variations of vowels. From the programs notes that Catherine included in the front cover, these are perceptions of the ‘sounds the sun makes.’ Yet another aspect that my students are really enjoying.
So, if you have a small ensemble and are looking for a one-on-a-part piece, this is a great choice. Alternately, if you have an ensemble of any size and are looking for divisi with rhythmic complexity, or a chance to work on compound subdivision or Dorian mode, this selection is excellent for that as well. The energy is undeniable!
We started the semester with compound meter boot camp – flashcards, worksheets, echoing, dictation, composition cards, the whole bit. I told them we couldn’t open the music until we could perform all of the rhythmic components separately. And wow have they stepped up.
