Video Information

• Choir: Matthew Curtis – Choral Tracks
• Piece: How heavy lies the heart
• Composer:  David Rain
• Voices:  SATB with divisi
• Sheet Music:   www.leadingnote.com/produ...  
• Genres: A cappella, Classical, Contemporary
• I dedicate this piece to my friends in the composer/singer collective, the Ad hoc Chorale, who tested out this piece in one of our informal workshops and offered valuable comments.
  
  "How heavy lies the heart" has drawn inspiration from the t...  moreI dedicate this piece to my friends in the composer/singer collective, the Ad hoc Chorale, who tested out this piece in one of our informal workshops and offered valuable comments.
  
  "How heavy lies the heart" has drawn inspiration from the traditional French Christmas carol, "Quelle est cette odeur agréable", which John Gay also set as a boisterous drinking song in the Beggar's Opera, "Fill every glass, for wine inspires us!" In addition, the song draws inspiration from Josquin's Missa Pange Lingua.
  
  In early 2018, I applied to be a participant at one of the Vancouver Chamber Choir's Interplay workshops funded by the SOCAN Foundation and to my delight I was accepted.
  
  "How heavy lies the heart" was one of the pieces that this amazing choir sight read for me on the spot. VCC director Jon Washburn and choir members then provided me with valuable feedback, for which I am very grateful.
  
  I would also like to acknowledge the a cappella choir that I sing in, The Stairwell Carollers, and our director Pierre Massie, for their musical inspiration these past 26 years.
  
  And with deepest appreciation to my brother Adam Rain and my friend Geneviève Lajoie for their invaluable support throughout my composing journey.
  
  NB: One day I woke up to the realization that I had independently written four choral works, each of which had evoked a different season, and so it seemed natural to group them together into a choral suite that I have called "The Ottawa Four Seasons Suite."
  
  "How heavy lies the heart" seemed to work perfectly as the musical representative of an autumnal spirit.
  
  Optional endings:
  Note that choirs have been given the option to choose which of the 3 endings they would like to sing, depending on how they feel the "story line" in the song should best reach its conclusion:
  
  1. The "happy" ending appears to indicate that the narrator has been reunited with the friend or lover who depa...    less