Land Shades began with an idea of a three stanza poem. The first stanza describes being in a cave. The second stanza describes walking out of the cave and into the forest. The third stanza describes walking out of the forest and into an open field. This idea was taken to Adam C. Sharp and he wrote a poem to illustrate the scenic idea. The instrumentation of the choral piece was originally for flute, vibes and cello. The instrumentation was changed to oboe, marimba and cello to create an earthy sound. The instruments do not just accompany the choir they play just as an important role in the choir. There are even times when the choir accompanies the instruments. The instrumental parts are highly contrapuntal, each having its own melodic line. Each section of the piece reflects the scene the poem is describing. The section about the cave incorporates long notes low in the register. The section about the forest incorporates quarter and eighth note triplets and interweaving lines like the branches on a tree. The section about the open field incorporates open chords and rolling sixteenth note lines.
Duration: 11.5 Minutes
Number of measures: 175
Number of pages (Score): 26
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Land Shades Gems of colors and full granite fill The strata setting in the cave Shedding all the stones to the air within The cavern so wide and free Open to the atmosphere Surrounded by warmth. Trees fill the sky solemn, firmly Seen abroad beyond the cave The Earth below stands still with leaves sent upon it Branches stream out across the vast air Still echoing a sense of peace and truth Life fills the blessed land as they scurry, sing, and live Upon the land freely The bark and trunks are soon passed For the great field of green The wind sifts through the blades Showing the plain of grass Insuring natures beauty to the last This land so great and wide Lives free with winders ready to be seen and felt Forever Adam C. Sharp |
Excerpts
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Performance
History This piece was premiered on a CSULB Composers' Guild
Concert and was conducted by Eric D. Sharp on May 10, 1994 at the Daniel
Recital Hall in Long Beach, CA.
Sopranos - Hege Merakeraas, Wendy Young, Kim Switzer Altos - Kendra Wohlert, Dianne De Wenter, Adriana Verdie Tenors - Charles Grogan, Ken Hayashi, Ron Mallory, David Ozab Basses - Gary Fritzen, Vince Johnson, Rick Piscitello, Pete Santucci Oboe - Alan Donnersberger Marimba - John Whatley Cello - Cameron Stone |