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"The Path to the Moon: Choral Guide"

The document provides background information on the English composer Eric Thiman and analyzes his choral piece "The Path to the Moon" in detail. It describes the musical elements of the piece including its 6/8 meter in 2, through-composed ternary form, Ab major tonality, vocal range from Eb4 to F5, and use of dotted rhythmic patterns. It also provides suggestions for teaching the piece, noting its appeal across ages and challenges like its upper register and syncopated sequences.

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255 views5 pages

"The Path to the Moon: Choral Guide"

The document provides background information on the English composer Eric Thiman and analyzes his choral piece "The Path to the Moon" in detail. It describes the musical elements of the piece including its 6/8 meter in 2, through-composed ternary form, Ab major tonality, vocal range from Eb4 to F5, and use of dotted rhythmic patterns. It also provides suggestions for teaching the piece, noting its appeal across ages and challenges like its upper register and syncopated sequences.

Uploaded by

nathanmcmath
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

IV

Title: The Path to the Moon


Unison voices and piano

Composer: Eric H. Thiman

Text: Madeline C. Thomas

Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes, 1956 OCTB6114

Background Information:
From: [Link].com1922/[Link]: The English composer, Eric Thiman
(1900-1975) was a Professor at the Royal Academy of Music from 1926 –1945. He then
became Dean of Faculty at London University until retirement. Thiman served as
conductor of the Elysian Concert Society and Purley Choral Society. He was also an
organist at City Temple. Most prolific in the fields of short choral pieces he also wrote a
number of orchestral, chamber, and piano works.
From: www. [Link]/amateurs/[Link]: Thiman’s choral music, like all his
out put, shows neat craftsmanship and easy melodic flow. Much of his music was written
for children and has added attractive, gracious tuneful music to the children’s chorus
literature.

Musical Elements:
Meter: 6/8, conduct in 2

Form: Through Composed - piano intro., a b c1 c11 c111, piano interlude, a1b1,
piano interlude, a c1 c11 c111, piano coda

Tonality: Ab Major

Phrasing and Harmony: Marked in the score

Dynamics: p, mp, mf, f


Vocal Technique Elements:
Range: e∫ - f1

Tessitura: e∫ - c1

Pitch set: melody - A∫ do: S1 L1 T1 D R M F S L

Rhythm: ≈, ç, Ç, ∂, Í use of dotted rhythm pattern: Ç ≈ç


Harmony:
The piano accompaniment provides traditional but rich harmonic functions.
Text:
The whimsical, fantasy text is full of imagery that would appeal to all ages.

Elements Related to Teaching:


Appropriate Grade Level: Advanced 4th – 6th treble – girls chorus 6 – 12th

Difficult Sections: phrases containing f1, leap of the octave and the syncopated
sequence, mm.13-16. Also sustaining the long, legato phrases will be a challenge.

Possible Teaching sequence):


Objective: Beautiful cantabile singing –good breath management and open vowel
sounds producing legato phrases.

Motivation: Ask for individuals to speak the first verse of the text dramatically
observing the marked dynamic levels.
Procedure: Echo phrases in rhythm using ss. Echo phrases using text in rhythm.
Mark phrases and breath marks into score. Create sol-fa exercise using difficult
patterns from score. Students find phrases in score and practice. Echo sing phrases
with neutral vowel, repeat using text. Correct any pitch, rhythm, or diction
problems. Look at second verse and repeat process,
The piece would take approximately four to six 15-minute lessons to learn.

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