Remember
SATB | 4'
In a conducting class one day, we sang through a choral setting of a setting of Christina Rossetti's Remember, filled with beautiful, lush harmonies throughout. The lesson of the day was that this was a "bad" setting, ignoring the meaning of the text. I then sought to produce a more faithful setting that explores the themes of pain and loss expressed, keeping in mind Rossetti's struggle with depression. While I end the piece with an uplifting tone, the journey to get there explores a wide range of emotions expressed by subtle shifts of harmony, dynamics, and tempo. This piece was a finalist in the 2015 Ithaca Choral Composition Contest, performed by the East Lyme High School chorus directed by Anthony Maiese.
Remember
by Christina Rossetti
Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann'd:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.
This poem is in the public domain.
by Christina Rossetti
Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann'd:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.
This poem is in the public domain.