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Choral Reviews
Choral Reviews

ance between a vigorous consonant and a well-rounded content from the previous section in an excellent range
vowel is an engaging choral challenge. for each voice part.
After its memorable opening words, the poetry casts After a return of the A section material, choirs will
Thor and Odin as central characters. They are later thoroughly enjoy the coda. Coleridge-Taylor uses the
replaced with Britannia, a personification of the spir- most recognizable word of the piece as the starring
it of Great Britain. This is typical of poetry and mu- character of the conclusion. The upper and lower voic-
sic from this era, in which British nationalism was a es are briefly pitted against each other with competing
common theme. Coleridge-Taylor provides optional “clangs,” then unified in a thrilling final chord progres-
text substitutions in the score for choirs of the United sion that leaves a lasting impression on audiences and
States. “Britannia” can be exchanged for “Columbia,” choirs alike.
the “North sea” can become the “blue sea,” and “the
island” can be sung as “the nation.” Coleridge-Taylor Matt Carlson, DMA Student
was quite popular on both sides of the pond, so con- University of North Texas
ductors can choose which country to highlight based
on their concert theme, other repertoire on their pro-
gram, or personal preference.
Outside of its eye-catching text, another highly re-
warding aspect of Viking Song lies in its accessibility.
The rhythmic demands are modest. Simple march-like
rhythms in duple time are the prevailing wind in this
piece’s sails, outside of two quick ripples of eighth-note
triplets. The part writing is mostly diatonic, with brief
moments of chromaticism in the form of half-step
neighbor or passing tones. A symmetrical ABBA form
lends itself well to efficient rehearsals, as musical details
rehearsed in one section will pay dividends when trans-
ferred to its pair. There is very little divisi throughout
the work, with none in the soprano and alto parts and
only a measure or two for the tenors and basses.
Despite a musical foundation that is not particularly
complex, Coleridge-Taylor keeps the attention of the
listener and performer through a variety of tonal cen-
ters and choral textures. While the sopranos, altos, and
tenors sing as a homophonic trio in the opening F ma-
jor section, the basses take delight in their exclamations
between the entrances of the other voice parts. He sets
their declamations of “Is it Thor?” and “Is it Odin with
the leather on his knee?” in a range that is right in the
sweet spot of most choral basses.
This textural variety continues in the first B section,
which modulates to A major. The altos and basses
sing the melody in octaves in a comfortable tessitura,
while the sopranos and tenors comment with a “clang”
countermelody in octaves. For the second B section,
their roles are switched. Coleridge-Taylor cleverly
modulates the key to C major, which places the same

CHORAL JOURNAL June/July 2025 Volume 65 Number 9 27