SSA, alphorn, and cowbells
Poem: Henry Van Dyke
Duration: 4 min 45 sec
Here is a recording of a performance by three solo adult voices; the cowbells were sounded by volunteers in the audience.
Here is a copy of the score.
I love the hour that comes, with dusky hair
And dewy feet, along the Alpine dells
To lead the cattle forth. A thousand bells
Go chiming after her across the fair
And flowery uplands, while the rosy flare
Of sunset on the snowy mountain dwells,
And valleys darken, and the drowsy spells
Of peace are woven through the purple air.
Dear is the magic of this hour: she seems
To walk before the dark by falling rills,
And lend a sweeter song to hidden streams;
She opens all the doors of night, and fills
With moving bells the music of my dreams,
That wander far among the sleeping hills.
Gstaad, 1909
Henry Van Dyke Jr. (1852-1933) was an American author, educator, and clergyman. This poem is from The White Bees and other poems. Gstaad is a resort town in the Swiss alps.