''Southern Harmony'' is a
minimalist
In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...
composition
Composition or Compositions may refer to:
Arts and literature
*Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography
* Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...
by
William Duckworth written in 1980 and 1981. It is scored for
unaccompanied mixed
chorus
Chorus may refer to:
Music
* Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse
* Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound
* Chorus form, song in whic ...
, and is an original work created through adaptation of
shape-note songs from the 1854 compilation ''
Southern Harmony and Musical Companion'' (first published 1835). ''Southern Harmony'' is divided into four books (or sections) that were premiered over the span of a decade. The complete work was premiered in February 1992 at
Merkin Concert Hall in New York by the
Gregg Smith Singers.
Movements
The individual movements of ''Southern Harmony'' are:
Book One
# Consolation
#
Wondrous Love
# Hebrew Children
# Solemn Thought
# Rock of Ages
Book Two
Book Three
Book Four
References
* Monroe Street Musi
* ''Southern Harmony'' compact dis
* Silverman, Adam. "Stylistic Combination and Methodical Construction in William Duckworth's Southern Harmony". ''Contemporary Music Review'' Volume 20, Number 4, 2001, pp. 45–59 (15)
{{classical-composition-stub
Minimalistic compositions
1981 compositions
Choral compositions
Compositions by William Duckworth