Sounds of the Nightingale (Fine, Vivian)

		Composition Year 1971 Genre Categories Pieces; For voice, female chorus, flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, percussion, 2 violins, 2 violas, piano; Scores featuring the voice; Scores featuring the soprano voice; Scores featuring female chorus; Scores featuring the flute; Scores featuring the oboe; Scores featuring the clarinet; Scores featuring the horn; Scores featuring percussion soloists; Scores featuring the violin; Scores featuring the viola; Scores featuring the piano; For voices and chorus with solo instruments; English language

Sheet Music

• Scores (2)

Scores

 Complete score
*#226865 - 6.22MB, 42 pp. -  0.0/10 2 4 6 8 10 (0) - !N/!N/!N - 127x⇩

PDF typeset by Paul Hawkins
rhymesandchymes (2012/5/30)

 Complete parts
*#226866 - 4.83MB, 26 pp. -  0.0/10 2 4 6 8 10 (0) - !N/!N/!N - 63x⇩

PDF typeset by Paul Hawkins
rhymesandchymes (2012/5/30)

Publisher Info.:

Vivian Fine Estate

Copyright:

Performance Restricted Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives 1.0 [tag/del]

© COPYRIGHT NOTICE. THIS FILE IS PROTECTED UNDER COPYRIGHT LAW.
However, the lawful copyright owner has generously released the file for distribution at IMSLP under one of the Creative Commons licenses or the IMSLP Performance Restricted License, which allow for the free distribution (with proper attribution) of the file with various levels of restriction with respect to the creation of derivative works, commercial usage, or public performances.

Misc. Notes:

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General Information

Work Title	Sounds of the Nightingale
Alternative Title

Composer	Fine, Vivian
Year/Date of Composition	1971
First Performance	1971-05-19, Bennington College, Valerie Lamoree, soprano, Bennington choral and instrumental ensembles, Vivian Fine, conductor
Librettist	John Keats and Vivian Fine
Language	English and birdsong
Average Duration	13 3/4 minutes
Piece Style	Modern
Instrumentation	Soprano, female chorus, flute, alto flute, oboe doubling on English horn, clarinet, bass clarinet, French horn, two violins, two violas, piano, percussion (tuned tom-toms, woodblocks, susp. cymbal, and tissue paper)

Misc. Comments

Sounds of the Nightingale… is a further step in [Fine’s] expansion of timbre and texture. The piece consists of independent layers of birdsong as portrayed by an ensemble of flute, alto flute, oboe doubling on English horn, clarinet, bass clarinet, French horn, piano, percussion (tuned tom-toms, woodblocks, suspended cymbal and tissue paper), two violins, two violas, soprano, and the female chorus. Each birdsong is scored meticulously, with appropriate attacks, dynamic changes, and other nuances, to recreate the sounds she wanted. Differing simultaneous tempi, such as the quarter-note = 66 for the soprano, 54 for the choral group and piano, 80 for the English horn and strings, and 60 for the French horn, create the layering and independence of materials she desired. Strategic entrances are cued by the conductor, and, at times, entrances are numbered in thick textures to ensure the kinds of timbre and tenure mixtures she wanted. Although the birdsongs are not labeled, Fine’s meticulousness resembles that of Messiaen’s in scoring birdsong. Nothing is left to chance, and Fine knew exactly what she wanted to hear in her piece.

—Heidi Von Gunden, The Music of Vivian Fine, Scarecrow Press, 1999