I’ve been extraordinarily busy the last couple of weeks
and blogging time has slipped away from me.
But in the midst of all the busy-ness I’ve been struck anew by the
beauty of a piece Master Chorus Eastside will perform at the Great Seattle
Choral Consortium choral festival October 11 and 12, Randall Thompson’s setting
of the Robert Frost poem The Road Not
Taken. The poem is well known, so
well known that perhaps we don’t take the time anymore to really listen to it. And Thompson’s setting is also well known,
with perhaps the same result. But his music
melds so beautifully with the text that it has brought a renewed appreciation
for the skills of both men to the forefront of my mind.
First, here is a recording of Robert Frost reading his
poem.
And here is Thompson’s setting, sung by the McConnell
College Chamber Singers.
There is a remarkable stillness about the piece, and yet
it brims with quiet suspense. Notice the
dynamics; for the chorus, the loudest dynamic in the entire piece is piano.
The chorus always sings either soft or very soft, a challenging feat as
melody and harmony rise and fall! It is
the accompaniment that carries the contrasting drama. Why is that?
Perhaps we’ll discover why as the piece unfolds.
The first verse opens in D minor with the chorus quietly
poised at the place—and the moment— in the forest where one road branches into
two. A decision needs to be made…which
road to take? Is this a solemn moment,
maybe life-changing? Is that what the
quietness conveys?
After the first stanza the accompaniment surges from piano to mezzo forte to forte over
several measures, then quickly hushes again as the choir considers the equal
nature of the two roads. It is as if composer/poet
is about to take the decisive step, but pulls back, knowing that the decision
is probably irrevocable.
The decision is made between stanzas two and three as the
accompaniment builds and builds to the loudest, grandest dynamic in the piece, fortissimo, with solid, sure low notes
in the accompaniment. But are they so
certain? The low notes seem to waver,
and once again the choir enters very softly, “with a sigh,” as the
composer/poet ponders this decision that made “all the difference.”
Then comes one of the loveliest moments in the work as
the accompaniment transitions quite suddenly to D major and light-foots it into
a lovely eight-measure dance. Then, very
softly, comes the choir once more, enigmatic as to key for a measure or two
before settling back into D minor and a reiteration of the final line, “And
that has made all the difference.”
Why the dancing interlude? Does it say something about the choice made? Or does the minor key and solemn character really address the choice? Do they together tell you whether it was a good or an ill choice? What is the story Randall Thompson unfolds to
you through dynamics, melody and key linked with the text? Listen closely, against the background of
your own life decisions, and let him tell that story to you.
P.S. I realized
some hours after posting the above that I need to amend something I wrote. It’s really the chorus that suddenly shifts
to D major right before the dancing interlude, and it happens on the word “difference.” With that observation, it’s fascinating to
realize that it’s on the final repeat of “difference” that the chorus settles
back into D minor. This major/minor
juxtaposition dramatizes the word “difference” and increases its enigmatic
nature. It’s a small but telling touch,
and heightens my appreciation of Thompson’s musical poetry—and still leaves the
above questions hanging in the air!
Dr. Linda Gingrich
Artistic director and conductor
Master Chorus Eastside
www.masterchoruseastside.org
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