for acapella SATB divisi choir

Winner of the 2007 Sorel Medallion Award Meciendo for SSAATTBB acapella choir YEAR: 2005 TEXT: Gabriela MistralDURATION: 5 minutes  COMMISSIONED BY: Harmonia Chamber Choir, Boulder, COTHEMES: nature (wind/waves), motherhood (mother/child), spiritualityPERFORMANCE SUGGESTIONS: Spanish and English texts, nature-themed concert  Get this score View score excerpt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHOmBV4js_E TEXT:MeciendoEl mar sus millares de olas---mece divino.Oyendo a los mares amantes---mezo a mi niño.El viento errabundo en la noche---mece los trigos.Oyendo a los vientos amantes---mezo a mi niño.Dios Padre sus miles de mundos---mece sin ruido.Sintiendo su mano en la sombra---mezo a mi niño.(Gabriela Mistral)RockingThe divine sea rocks its endless waves.Listening to the loving seasI rock my child.At night, the vagabond wind sways the wheat.Listening to the loving windsI rock my child.The Heavenly Father silently rocks thousands of worlds.Sensing His hand in the shadow,I rock my child.(Gabriela Mistral, translation by Maria Giachettiin Gabriela Mistral:  A Reader)   PROGRAM NOTES:Meciendo is the winner of the 2007 Sorel Medallion, an international choral competition sponsored by the Sorel Organization.  Named in memory of pianist-prodigy, Claudette Sorel, the organization seeks to offer new opportunities for women musicians.  As a part of the award, Kirchoff’s Meciendo, was performed at an October 9 concert sung by Voices of Ascension, a mixed chorus of 40 professional vocalists directed by Dennis Keene and based in New York City.  The evening concert was held in Zankel Auditorium, one of three performing spaces within renowned Carnegie Hall.     The text of Meciendo, Spanish for “rocking,” is from a poem by the Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral.  Against a background of flowing, rhythmic chants that evoke fields of wheat waving in the wind, a solo soprano voice raises a lyrical contrast as she reflects on rocking her child in her arms.  Nine separate lines call and answer each other then meld into a single voice at the end.PREMIERE:Harmonia Chamber ChoirApril 22, 2006The JourneyLongmont, CO OTHER PERFORMANCES:Harmonia, April 23, 2006The AcademyBoulder, COSt. Martin’s Chamber ChoirDecember 17, 2006Broomfield AuditoriumBroomfield, COSt. Martin’s Chamber ChoirDecember 22, 2006St. Elizabeth’s ChurchDenver, COMetropolitan State College of Denver Concert ChoirMarch 5, 2007Denver, COVoices of Ascension October 9, 2007Carnegie HallNew York, NYMetropolitan State College of Denver Concert ChoirJanuary 25, 2008Colorado Music Educators Association ConferenceColorado Springs, COMetropolitan State College of Denver Concert ChoirFebruary 21, 2008American Choral Directors Association ConferenceKansas City, MOSt. Martin’s Chamber ChoirDecember 19, 2008St. John's Episcopal CathedralDenver, COSt. Martin’s Chamber ChoirDecember 20, 2008First Congregational ChurchBoulder, COSt. Martin’s Chamber ChoirDecember 21, 2008Augustana Lutheran ChurchDenver, COLamont Women's ChorusMarch 2, 2011University of DenverDenver, CO