We Are The Darkness In The Heat Of The Day

Song for five-part chorus (SMezATB) unaccompanied Text: Edith Sitwell Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes Difficulty level: 1-2 This short unaccompanied setting formed part of a programme of Edith Sitwell's verse put together for theAldeburgh Festival in 1956. Britten had set her words to music in his Canticle III 'Still Falls the Rain'. After the performance Imogen Holst suggested to Britten that he might consider the setting of 'We are the darkness in theheat of the day' as a separate piece. She prepared the score for her Purcell Singers but it was never performed in Brittens lifetime.The short song is almost madrigalian in character, entirely homophonic (chordal) and leading to abeautiful and gentle conclusion. This is another of Britten's rarities which would add interest to a concert programme featuring his music or even recreating the spirit of that Aldeburgh programme around the poetry of EdithSitwell - and perhaps others. Duration: 2 minutes Paul Spicer, Lichfield, 2011