Rest and Breathe

Rest and Breathe

Poem by Grace Shelley

Commissioned by GALS: Auckland’s Rainbow Choir

Premiere: 8 June 2024
GALS: Auckland’s Rainbow Choir, conductor Nicholas Forbes
Piano Soomin Kim
Pitt Street Methodist Church, Auckland.

Programme Note

Rest and Breathe was commissioned by GALS to commemorate the choir’s 30th birthday. It is a setting of a poem ‘For GALS: Auckland’s Rainbow Choir at Thirty’ by Grace Shelley. As part of the process, two of the lines from the poem were translated into te reo by Powhiri Rika-Heke. All three of us, Grace, Powhiri and I are or have been members of GALS, and so the work has been conceived within the choir’s community.

The poem suggested to me a diverse range of musical material. To structure this material I took inspiration from anthems and other choral works by Handel.

Rest and Breathe was commissioned by GALS: Auckland’s Rainbow Choir with this assistance of The Rule Foundation.

Work Details

Voicing

SATB with divisi (SSAATTBB maximum)

Instrumentation

Piano

Duration

7 minutes

Other Links

The GALS website with information about the choir including membership and future concerts.

The GALS Facebook page with information about the choir including membership and future concerts.