Page 62 - CJSept24

Repertoire & Resources - Music in Worship

and-response texture to a two-line declamation, as the hackneyed with carefully placed syncopations in 3/4
harmony shifts to Dorian mode on A. time. His text setting is almost exclusively homophonic,
As the “Glory to God” is reached at the end of the and the molto ritmico indication reinforces the sense that
second verse, Healey enriches the texture with some this carol is one of the more dramatic moments within
divisi in thirds to form parallel triads. The six-voice the work.
texture concludes a carefully controlled buildup from The form is of a modified rondo (Table 2 on the
the arrival of the Wise Men to the climactic point of next page). Note the harmonies are not always diaton-
this carol, which concludes in seven parts by the final ic; Healey frequently employs modal elements. The last
cadence employing the Picardy third. two sections, based on C, are the most typical of this,
and the longest harmony employed.
4) How vain the cruel Herod’s fear
The text of this carol is one of the great translations 5) Moonless darkness
by John Mason Neale (1818-1866) of a fifth-century Subtitled “a nocturne,” this is the only movement
text by Coelius Sedulius, well known for the Christ- to suggest a solo voice. These qualities perfectly suit
mas poem A solis ortus cardine. Neale’s iambic tetrameter the text by the Anglo-Catholic mystic Gerard Manley
lends itself well to Healey’s choice of the 6/8 rhythm. Hopkins.
The composer prevents the meter from becoming

60 CHORAL JOURNAL September 2024 Volume 65 Number 2