UP IN THE MORNING EARLY

2022 - SSA Choir (text by Robert Burns)

DETAILS

• Instrumentation SSA choir (a cappella)

• Duration 4 mins

• Composed June. 2022-Sept. 2022

• First Performance Sandnes 4 Dec. 2022, performance by VIVA Sandnes kulturskolekor conducted by Tuva Ystad Gederø

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DESCRIPTION

Robert Burns supposedly wrote the poem Up In The Morning Early as a statement of his dislike for the Scottish winter mornings back in the seventeen-hundreds. I wrote the piece for the Norwegian youth choir VIVA, and imagined that this frustration Burns penned so long ago was something that would resonate well with the members of the choir today.

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In addition to Burns words, the music is inspired by British carols and modern nordic choir music. The words have been preserved in their original Scottish language, and so this is a true mixture of Norwegian and Scottish culture and influences.

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Up In The Morning Early was commissioned by VIVA Sandnes Kulturskolekor and their conductor Tuva Ystad Gederø, and has been made possibly by financial support from Sandnes Kommune and Ung I Kor. I also have to thank Steinar Eielsen for his support and help in revising the piece.