The Annunciation of Solomon (2016)
for SATB choir and organ
Text: Song of Solomon 3:6-7a, 11 (KJV) and John Milton (1608-1674)
Duration: 3 minutes
Difficulty: 2/4
Written in collaboration with the Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. First presented in workshop with Sir James MacMillan by the St Salvator's Chapel Choir (Tom Wilkinson, dir.) with Sean Heath, organ, in February 2017. First publicly performed April 2017.
In Autumn 2016, I was selected to take part in a new project in St Andrews, Scotland, where six composers were paired with six doctoral theology students from the University of St Andrews to create new choral anthems on the theme of Old Testament annunciations. I had the pleasure of working with Kimberley (‘Billie’) Anderson, who challenged me with issues of masculine representation and emotion in the Song of Solomon. In The Annunciation of Solomon, the previously-silent bridegroom is announced in his approach (a purposeful misgendering of the original text, as he becomes ‘perfumed with myrrh…with all powders of the merchant’). The inner voice of the bridegroom is represented by an excerpt from Milton’s Paradise Lost (itself adapted from Genesis 2:23) set with lush harmonies in dialogue with the organ. The piece closes by returning to the Song of Solomon, set as a simple chant.
Click here to see the complete score.
Stream the CD recording on Spotify through the link below.
Full Text
Who is this that cometh
out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
with all powders of the merchant?
Behold: Solomon!
I now see Bone of my Bone,
Flesh of my Flesh, my Self before me;
Woman is her name, of Man extracted:
And they shall be one Flesh, one Heart, one Soule.
Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion,
and behold King Solomon
in the day of the gladness of his heart.