Songs of love and old age, 2002

Settings of Four Anonymous English Secular Texts for Mixed Choir (SSAATTBB). 1. Thou sleepest fast. 2. Love is a secret, feeding fire. 3. Three score and ten. 4. The old man's complaint.

Included in this file are the following: the original manuscript, a photocopy of the original manuscript with additions/options, and an engraved version by Oxford University Press. According to the internet, on the inside cover of the published version of this piece is the following description of the music: "Songs of Love and Old Age are settings of four anonymous English secular texts (c. 1550-1680) that may [be] performed with solo voices or by larger choral ensembles. The work was commissioned by the Oriana Singers and premiered on 13 October 1990 in Evanston, Illinois. Their precise gestures--formed of snappy rhythms, stylish melodies, and expanded harmonies --blend vestiges of the English madrigal with a modern jazz idiom to yield delicate yet vigorous works of charm and delight." The four pieces in this set are as follows: 1. Thou sleepest fast (c. 1550); 2. Love is a secret feeding fire (c. 1650); 3. Three score and ten (c. 1650); 4. The old man's complaint (c. 1680). There are two complete scores of this piece in the file: an original manuscript and an engraved version (with corrections and comments).