To Face the Night Alone
by Anthony Ritchie, for choir, baritone and orchestra, Opus 42
This major work traces the stages of the grief process, mixing poems by James K. Baxter, Sam Hunt and Janet Frame with an evocative and powerful libretto by Pat White. It is direct in style, and well within the capabilities of most city choirs and orchestras.
- YEAR: 1990
- DURATION: 37'00
- TEXTS: Mainly by Pat White, commissioned for the work; also includes 'The Bay' by James K.Baxter, 'My Father Today' by Sam Hunt, and 'The Suicides' by Janet Frame
- COMMISSIONED BY: The Schola Cantorum and Dunedin Sinfonia
- INSTRUMENTATION: song cycle for solo baritone, large SATB choir, and orchestra: 2222/3220/timp, 2 perc, strings
- LEVEL: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians
Programme Note
This work for choir, baritone and orchestra was composed for The Schola Cantorum (now City of Dunedin Choir) and The Dunedin Sinfonia (now Southern Sinfonia), with the assistance of a grant from Creative NZ. It is a song cycle, using ten poems especially written for the work by New Zealander Pat White. Three other poems are by Baxter, Frame and Hunt.