Roses of Life

SAB choir, 4’ (2020)

Paul Lawrence Dunbar was an American poet and playwright in the late nineteenth century. He was born to freed slaves in Kentucky in 1872 and published his first poems at the age of sixteen, the beginning of a highly prolific output and successful career during his lifetime. He died tragically of tuberculosis at a young age in 1906. This charming poem likens the changing of the seasons and the natural world to our own human cycles of life and love.

The piece uses a simple, folk-inspired melody to set the lyrical verses. This tune is used in counterpoint and in different textures throughout the stanzas, flowering outward like the subject of the poem, while also taking advantage of the power of unison singing. I hope it is tuneful and accessible to all while providing plenty of interest in all three parts, along with a few new or surprising sounds along the way.

Click here for perusal score.