Music by Other Composers
William Pierce – Two Carols
for SATB choir and organ (ed. N. Buckland) (4’45):
1. Peace on Earth
2. This Endris Nightfree pdf scoreWilliam Pierce was an English organist and choirmaster and my predecessor as conductor of the Launceston Philharmonic Society (Tasmania). At his death in 1997 I was invited to look through the music he left behind, and discovered handwritten manuscripts of these superb carols. This edition is faithful to the manuscripts, adding only a suggestion that one short section be repeated.
Also see Arrangements and Orchestral Music: Climates of the Mind: Love (an arrangement of a tune by Turlough O’Carolan).
Shostakovich – O Virtus Sapientiae
for SATB choir a cappella or with organ accompaniment (Latin text: Hildegard of Bingen) (8’45)
An arrangement for choir of a fugue for piano by Shostakovich (op.87, no.16). This fugue has an extraordinary meditative quality, suggestive of the wisdom and maturity that may sometimes be attained after great suffering. The resemblance of the music to early Renaissance polyphony by composers such as Josquin suggested the idea of arranging it as a choral piece. The words of Hildegard of Bingen’s poem in praise of wisdom fit both the character of the music and many of its details perfectly (note that, in deference to Shostakovich’s well-known atheism, this is not an explicitly religious text).
This arrangement has, I believe, the potential to become a choral classic, in the way that Barber’s arrangement of his Adagio for strings as an Agnus Dei has. (Unlike the Barber, this arrangement does not require the altos to sing above their range, but it requires an accomplished choir and includes some low passages for basses (to Eb) and a brief high soprano solo.)
In 2008 I applied to Shostakovich’s publishers, Boosey and Hawkes, for permission to make this arrangement and was told the request would be passed on to the composer’s estate. I have received no further communication from either. I am therefore offering the score here free as a concept piece. If you wish to publicly perform or record this arrangement, copyright issues should be followed up with Boosey and Hawkes. (Private performances and performances in educational settings should not, however, be affected by copyright.)
(Full lyrics for this work (with translation) can be found here: Lyrics of Songs and Choral Music.)