None of these changes are significant, save one-the dropping of the word not from line seven.
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Here is the Biblical text, including the line numbers:ġ Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.Ģ He cometh forth like a flower and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow and continueth not.ħ For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again,Īnd that the tender branch thereof will not cease.Ĩ Though the root thereof wax old in the earth and the stock thereof die in the ground ĩ Yet through the scent of water it will bud and bring forth boughs like a plant.ġ0 But man dieth and wasteth away, wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?ġ1 As the waters fail from the sea and the flood decayeth and drieth up:ġ2 So man lieth down and riseth not till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake,Ī comparison of the Biblical lines and the song text reveals Floyd has altered some punctuation, omitted several words and repeated some words for emphasis. It is composed on lines selected from Job 14, of the King James version of the Bible. The opening song is an excellent sample of the whole. And certainly, the quality of this music is so extraordinary it cries out for even a partial performance. Yet several of the less arduous songs are within the abilities of a good, mature student and can be successfully excerpted.
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When he puts the turmoil of the Old Testament behind him and turns-in the concluding song-to the tranquillity of the New Testament, the effect is positively transcendental.Īlas, the collective vocal gamut of this superb work is in excess of two octaves and its emotional and interpretive range is so demanding a singer of professional ability is needed to perform it. Whichever format you favor, cantata or song cycle, the remarkable structure Floyd created with his text selections must be appreciated. There is the reflective Man that is born of a Woman (Job 14), the distressed and desperate Save me, O Lord, for the Waters are come in Unto my Soul (Psalm 69), an acknowledgement of God's omnipresence and power, O Lord, Thou hast Searched me and Known me (Psalm 139), a joyous song of praise, Praise the Lord, O my soul (Psalms 148-9) and a sublime closing prayer from Romans 8: For I am persuaded.
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But I submit he should more properly have called this work a song cycle, as its structure is nothing more than a series of five self-standing songs arranged in a musically satisfying sequence to suggest a story. When Floyd created his work Pilgrimage, in 1955, he based it on Biblical texts, designed it for the concert hall and designated it a 'solo cantata' for low voice and piano (or orchestra).
But as his name does not appear in even the most comprehensive guides to art song repertory, it may be a bit surprising to see one of his compositions addressed in this series on song. Carlisle Floyd is one of America's most significant composers, and his catalog is filled with many important large works.
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