Choral Piece of the Day, Installment 24: Land of Crystal Dreams
Composed in 2002, Land of Crystal Dreams is a secular carol for the winter holiday season for SATB, or TTBB, or SSAA chorus, all with optional percussion accompaniment of glockenspiel and vibraphone. The text is by the composer's then 14-year-old niece, Erica Hoffman, and is adapted by the composer. My niece is now married is named Erica Hanna.
Not many years before I composed this piece, and while I was still working for Scores International music engravers of Boston (defunct), I worked indirectly through a liaison with the famous film composer, John Williams, as sheet music editor on his suite, Selections from "Home Alone." This got me listening to the soundtrack for the movie. The choral music from that film stayed with me for good a while afterwards in terms of the holiday mood it sets when one hears it.
When I asked my creative young niece to write a winter season poem, I had no idea how the music might sound. As it turned out, the resultant composition creates what is in my mind a mood similar to that of the Williams score, making Land of Crystal Dreams a very appropriate choice for holiday concerts, pops and otherwise.
Version for SATB chorus & optional percussion
Full/Choral score: ECS Publishing Group Catalog No. 6166;
Percussion parts: ECS Publishing Group Catalog No. 6167.
Follow the next link to hear a performance by the Philovox Ensemble, Jennifer Lester, conductor.
Follow the next link to see a partial PDF sample of the SATB score, or to purchase performance copies, and for ordering information for the instrumental parts.
Version for SSAA chorus & optional percussion
Land of Crystal Dreams - 2002, arr. 2012.
Full/Choral score: ECS Publishing Group Catalog No. 7937.
Percussion parts: ECS Publishing Group Catalog No. 7938.
Follow the next link to see a partial PDF sample of the SSAA score, or to purchase performance copies, and for ordering information for the instrumental parts.
Version for TTBB chorus & optional percussion
Land of Crystal Dreams - 2002, arr. 2012.
Full/Choral score: ECS Publishing Group Catalog No. 7939.
Percussion parts: ECS Publishing Group Catalog No. 7940.
Follow the next link to see a partial PDF sample of the TTBB score, or to purchase performance copies, and for ordering information for the instrumental parts.
TEXT
The streets are filled with people,
And the pavement’s glist’ning bright.
Soft snowflakes gleam like diamonds
On a blanket of pure white.
Refrain
Into each corner I gaze,
A wint’ry vision streams.
Winter reveals such beauty
In this land of crystal dreams.
Icicles hang from rooftops,
Reflecting light on the snow.
Rainbows glitter on the ground
And at sunset, candles glow. Refrain
Silence now through all the town,
The children have gone to sleep.
Snowmen stand like mute watchmen
In yards with snow piled so deep. Refrain
Oak trees stand tall, maples too,
And flow’rs are buried away.
Winter’s promised spring will come
But for now, winter will stay. Refrain
Words by Erica L. Hoffman
Adapted by Stanley M. Hoffman
Words: © Copyright by Erica Hanna (nee Erica L. Hoffman).
Adapted and used by permission.
Comments