Page 63 - CJSept24

Moonless darkness stands between. a weak resolution in m. 13 on B-minor7, then a new
Past, the Past no more be seen! phrase on “But the Bethl’hem star” in A-minor heralds
But the Bethl’hem star may lead me the first “action” in the poem (Figure 3a and 3b on the
To the sight of Him Who freed me next two pages). It is notable that in this carol, Healey
From the self that I have been. indulges in re-statement of poetic lines to strengthen the
musical form. Both verses of the poem are repeated,
Make me pure, Lord: Thou art holy; with slight enrichments of harmonic texture and coun-
Make me meek, Lord: Thou wert lowly; terpoint each time, yielding an A-A’-B-B’ form. The
Now beginning, and alway: effect is to give more substance and balance to the piece
Now begin on Christmas day. and suggest imperativeness in the supplicatory prayer
that forms the second verse.
The mix of Romantic imagery and piety found in
this poem suggests a rich harmonic treatment and ut- 6) Now Blessed be Thou, Christ Jesu
most care in terms of timbre in the musical setting. The The last flower in this posey is a consummate “finale”
2/4 rhythm suggests a gentle rocking, a most nurturing in the Mixolydian mode on F, “Quasi allegro, con un ritmo
association, and a reference to the opening of no. 1 stretto.” The lightness of the musical setting is reinforced
is heard in the rhythm of the harp octaves, creating a in the reference in the second verse that Christ’s birth
subtle link between the opening of the two halves of “mak[es] us children of his light.” Additionally, Heal-
the cycle. ey uses a “la-la” accompaniment on an F pedal in this
Harmonically, the piece hews to the Dorian mode verse to suggest a dance-like quality in the texture.
on A. The stability of the slow harmonic rhythm em- Variations in each verse are carefully parceled out to
8
phasizes color rather than activity, and the F-sharp di- avoid monotony. Verse 2 is set in three-part harmony
minished-minor seventh chord sustained over the first in SAT, with echoes of fauxbordon style and the “la-la”
eight measures further reduces any sense of instability, F pedal mentioned above. In verse 3 the melody moves
as does the use of a dominant pedal tone (A natural) to the tenor, with a crisp and effective harmonization in
throughout. the upper two voices that support without overshadow-
When the harmonic progression begins, Healey ing.
uses a good deal of parallel quartal chords, leading to The third verse is set with the melody in the soprano,
with a simpler harmonic setting and a more homopho-
nic texture. The harp part, which is intricate through-
Table 2. A Posy for the Christ Child, Movement 4.
out the carol, is thinned to a two-part texture in a nice
contrast. The final verse appropriately allows the lib-
Section Text (verse) Principal key erty of “elaborating” the melody in the alto and tenor
lines, relying on the listener’s aural memory of the prior
A verse 1 Am---Cm repetitions, while the soprano descant and a fanfare-
like tenor line as well as some well-placed glissandi in the

B verse 2 Cm harp to conclude the entire work in a festive manner.

A’ verse 3 Am Conclusion
A Posy for the Christ Child is a delightful work to per-
B’ verse 4 Mixolydian on C (with 7) form and to hear. The harp accompaniment is quite
demanding and must be executed by a player of the
A’’ verse 5 highest caliber. Healey’s musical style expertly balances
modernist compositional techniques and the modal/folk

CHORAL JOURNAL September 2024 Volume 65 Number 2 61