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"The Long Day Closes" by Daniel Elder

Words by Henry Chorley (1808-1872)
Music Copyright ©2016 by Daniel Elder
Recording Copyright ©2016 by ChoralTracks

Commissioned by the Centerville High School Symphonic Choir, Ben Spalding, director.
World premiere performance December 12, 2017

Recording by Matthew Curtis (ChoralTracks LLC)

"The Long Day Closes," originally set by Arthur Sullivan as a stunningly intimate part-song, here explores an entirely different side of the musical spectrum as a Neo-Renaissance motet, marrying strict counterpoint with a sense of programmaticism. In an attempt to contrast as much as possible from the original homophonic setting, this new work delves into Henry Chorley's poem by painting images of mystical atmosphere and ancient memory—indeed, the first and third stanzas center on the former, while the middle, broader section takes on a retrospective tone. It is here that the Renaissance spirit is at its strongest, pulling the listener poignantly back in time. This section gives the piece its only true grounding, depicting an earthly sense of mortality in its harmonic centers of dominants and sub-dominants. By contrast, the outer, atmospheric sections more exclusively feature harmonic mediants, lending themselves to the idea of a broader universe outside the human lifespan.

Text:

No star is o'er the lake, its pale watch keeping,
The moon is half awake, through gray mist creeping.
The last red leaves fall round the porch of roses,
The clock has ceased to sound. The long day closes.

Sit by the silent hearth in calm endeavor,
To count the sounds of mirth, now dumb forever.
Heed not how hope believes and fate disposes:
Shadow is round the eaves. The long day closes.

The lighted windows dim are fading slowly.
The fire that was so trim now quivers lowly.
Go to the dreamless bed where grief reposes.
Thy book of toil is read. The long day closes.