for SATB unaccompanied Here Helvey has created a beautiful musical landscape for George Herbert’s tender poem ‘Virtue’. Each verse begins with a modal-sounding unison figure which flowers into expressive harmonies built on highly-chromatic vocal lines in an artfully-crafted evocation of Herbert’s text.
for SATB and piano A favorite text and tune of singers and listeners alike, this festival hymn is given new life in this upbeat 7/8 setting. The central section is legato and chorale-like, making for a beautiful contrast, before a slow build with ‘Alleluias’ returns us to a reprise of the original flavour, creating an […]
for SATB (with divisions) unaccompanied This piece sets a poem by Amy Lowell, vividly conveying the effect of the wind through a moving tapestry of eighth notes/quavers intertwined between the different voices. The melody floats over this breeze-like ostinato, sometimes effervescent, sometimes reposed.
for SATB (with divisions) and piano This is an emotive setting of Sara Teasdale’s poem ‘There Will Be Rest’. Following a serene opening, the piece rises and falls through both affecting climaxes and passages of great tranquility, ending with the same sense of stillness with which it begins.
for SATB unaccompanied with hand drum This piece sets a joyful text celebrating the beauty found all around us. Characterized by tight harmonies and a dynamic hand drum line, the buoyant 7/8 metre drives the piece forward. Lush harmonies colour the hymn-like B section as the text evolves into a call for strength despite the […]
