The Spacious Firmament On High
SATB choral/organ score
PEL2046-ISD-II-Choir and Organ
A WORK FOR SATB CHOIR AND ORGAN
This setting of the text by Joseph Addison (1672-1719) forms the second movement (The Art of The Divine) of Paul Halley's larger work, 'In Sideribus Domi: At Home In The Stars', a thirty-minute work in five movements for choir and orchestra, commissioned for the opening of The Clay Center of Science and Art in Charleston, WV. This 17th century text by Addison, a paean to the stars and planets in all their beauty and mystery, is set to a lyrical melody alternating between upper and lower voices. A frequent device in Halley's compositions is to weave a second melody into the piece; here it is a verse of the chant, Conditor alme siderum (Creator of the Stars of Night). As an excerpt from the larger work, this lovely anthem for SATB choir and organ easily stands on its own.
'In Sideribus Domi - At Home In The Stars' was commissioned by The Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences, Charleston, WV through American Composers Forum as part of the Continental Harmony program. Continental Harmony links communities with composers through the creation of original musical works. The program is a partnership of American Composers Forum and the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional funds provided by the John S. & James L. Knight Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and from Marshall Field’s Project Imagine with support from the Target Foundation. Commissioned by The Clay Center of Science and Art for the dedication of the new museum building in Charleston, WV.
Video
Notes
'The Spacious Firmament On High' (The Art of The Divine), comp. Halley, performed Chorus Angelicus, Gaudeamus, Battell Chamber Orchestra, directed by Paul Halley - at 00:05:41 min
'In Sideribus Domi: At Home in the Stars' by composer Paul Halley. Featuring Chorus Angelicus, Gaudeamus, and the Battell Chamber Orchestra, directed by Paul Halley. Live performance at Ozawa Hall, Tanglewood, June 2004. Approx timings - Mvmt I: The Science of Man, (00:00-05:40) Mvmt II: The Art of the Divine (05:40-10:00), Mvmt III: Discovery (10:00-17:24), Mvmt IV: Creativity (17:24-24:15), Mvmt V: Sanctus/Reprise (24:15-end 29:38)
Texts
The Spacious Firmament on High
Text: Joseph Addison (1672-1719)
Music: Paul Halley (1952-)
The spacious firmament on high,
With all the blue ethereal Sky,
And spangled heav'ns, a shining frame,
Their great original proclaim:
Th' unwearied sun, from day to day,
Does his Creator's power display,
And publishes to every land
The work of an almighty hand.
Soon as the evening shades prevail,
The moon takes up the wondrous tale,
And nightly to the listening earth
Repeats the story of her birth:
Whilst all the stars that round her burn,
And all the planets, in their turn,
Confirm the tidings as they roll,
And spread the truth from pole to pole.
What though, in solemn silence, all
Move round the dark terrestrial ball?
What though no real voice nor sound
Amid their radiant orbs be found?
In reason's ear they all rejoice,
And utter forth a glorious voice,
For ever singing, as they shine,
'The hand that made us is divine.'
Conditor alme siderum - Creator of the Stars of Night
7th cent Latin, translation by J.M. Neale
Cónditor alme síderum, Aetérna lux credéntium,
Virtus, honor, laus, gloria; In saeculorum saecula.
Translation:
Creator of the stars of night, Thy people’s everlasting light,
Laud, honor, might, and glory be, From age to age eternally.
