Updates for Watchman and Excelsior
Geoff has kindly supplied piano accompaniment sections for parts of the scores for Watchman and Excelsior so there aren’t gaps in the recordings of SATB parts.
Watchman has biblical origins, appearing in Isaiah 21:11 as a desperate cry to the watchman for help in times where Israel was witnessing the rise of the ruthless Assyrian empire. Tell us Watchman, was there to be continuing darkness in the world or would we emerge into sunlight?
Excelsior is an intriguing story by Longfellow about a young man’s misguided venture to climb higher and higher in the Alps, as the go-to destination in those days. The lad set off with his banner, heeding the warnings of the old man, the maiden, the peasant and some monks. The banner carried the inscription ‘Excelsior!’, which in old language meant ‘ever higher!’ so pushing the boundaries. No happy ending for him, alas.
‘Strange Device’ here doesn’t mean any sort of gadget but is Middle English for ‘intention’, as in the General Confession ‘we have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts’. The Falchion was a heavy 13th century sword, much liked by soldiers because it let them cut through shields and armour. Bit macabre but rousing stuff. Is there a bit of a pattern emerging in Geoff’s themes, first the father taking his son into dodgy Erlking territory and regretting it, then this!?
I couldn’t find any Excelsior scores in YouTube searches so it doesn’t seem to be a hugely popular choice for choirs. In fact composer James Sarjeant doesn’t get much of a look-in either, which is a pity as the music definitely grows on you. Geoff has done a great job in converting the original duets into SATB, and providing piano accompaniment to fill in gaps in the text to give better overall flow, and indications how to pitch the next bits.