Available for purchase at GIA Music Publications
GIA Octavo # G-7604
ASCAP Title # 324043638

This piece was written for and premiered by the Westminster Choir College Schola Cantorum, conducted by Joy Dupuis on April 18, 2009.

Performance Notes
Beneath this dome, is a beautiful text written by Gerald Custer filled with images of the heavens in their many forms. It speaks of the comforts of home and the healing power of music. I wrote the music using expansive melodic gestures, often reaching upwards, in the way that our eyes reach up to the stars. The soprano line especially should be sung like a familiar folk song, with a pure easy legato. I’ve used tenuto markings to show text stress or some particularly colorful dissonances. The tempo should be very free, and can be adjusted based on the needs of your singers. Most importantly, it should feel like a personal reading of the poem.

The climax of the piece, I greet them each by name beneath this dome…, should feel like the energy of the whole piece is released in the high A of the soprano and the descending line that follows it. It should cascade down like the conscious mind leaving you as you drift off to sleep. There are no breath marks in this piece; the conductor should allow punctuation and text stress to guide phrasing and breathing.

Media

Youtube
Beneath this dome
Lafayette High School Madrigal Singers
Ryan Marsh, conductor
Performed at the University of Louisville Comstock Chamber Choir Competetion, March 2011