Blessings

Words by Rita Crews; Music by Brett M McKern

ISMN 979 1 720115 73 3; Wirripang Pty Ltd

Four blessings, or short musical statements, were composed by Sydney-based composer Brett McKern on texts written by Rita Crews.

The blessings were intended for, and indeed two were used by, The Cathedral Singers on their UK tour in August, 2011.

Crews has written texts which are delightful, engaging and encompassing in thought. The lines are full of hope and warmth, lending themselves well to musical settings.

McKern’s compositional style in the Blessings are mostly very tonal with a romantic flavour in the English tradition. Set for SATB and intended as a capella settings, they require a highly competent vocal group.

Whilst essentially tonal, they each enjoy the occasional flirtation with a small, yet delicious dissonance. Clearly, when McKern was composing, he must have had a strong tenor (or tenor section), as each Blessing commences with a first line for tenor solo, aftewhich the other three voices join in. The spacing between parts is well considered, and the shaping of each line enables expressive heightening of the text.

Now published by Wirripang, this collection will serve liturgical or others choirs in need of an appealing, yet challenging musical moment, perhaps even as an encore. Equally, they could be interspersed within a service or concert.