There Will Come Soft Rains: Choral Instrumental Pak
By Sara Teasdale and Matt Podd / By Matt Podd
Item: 35-PK00978779
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Description
Setting the text by the late American Lyric poet Sara Teasdale, this musical setting uses blurred textures and unusual harmonies as an attempt to enhance the profound beauty in Teasdale's poignant depiction of humankind's relative smallness. The music ultimately celebrates the inevitable and un-grieving return of spring.
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Additional Details
Publisher:
Hal Leonard
SKU:
35-PK00978779
More about this title
About the Composer: Sara Teasdale and Matt Podd
Sara Teasdale (1884-1933) was an American lyric poet known for her delicate, introspective verses that explore nature, love, and human vulnerability. Her work gained significant recognition during the early 20th century, and her poetry continues to inspire musicians seeking texts with emotional depth and literary merit.
Matt Podd is a composer who works across choral and instrumental idioms, bringing contemporary harmonic language to poetic texts. His setting of Teasdale's "There Will Come Soft Rains" demonstrates his skill at using unconventional sonorities to amplify a poem's philosophical weight rather than obscure it.
Why we love this
Podd's compositional choices respect Teasdale's text without overshadowing it. The blurred textures and unusual harmonies function as emotional architecture, deepening the poem's meditation on transience and renewal rather than competing with its voice. This is choral writing that trusts both the words and the singers.
What to expect
The music inhabits a contemplative space where fragility and inevitability coexist. Blurred harmonies create an almost impressionistic wash that mirrors the quiet arrival of spring, while moments of clarity pierce through like light breaking through cloud cover. There is no sentimentality here; instead, a clear-eyed acceptance of cycles beyond human control.
Who it's for
This work engages advanced high school and college choirs comfortable with contemporary harmonic language and willing to invest time in interpretive nuance. Ensembles seeking concert or festival repertoire that marries literary sophistication with accessible ensemble challenges will find strong material here.
How to get the most out of it
- Balance clarity of text with the harmonic complexity; ensure diction remains precise even when voices move through dissonant passages
- Attend carefully to the instrumental accompaniment as a textural partner rather than mere support; the Pak arrangement integrates instruments into the harmonic fabric intentionally
- Explore the dynamic range beneath the surface; subtle shifts in volume shape the arc more effectively than dramatic swells in music this delicately constructed
How to use it
Pair this with other nature-inspired repertoire to build a thematic concert arc, or feature it as a standalone work that demonstrates your ensemble's range in contemporary choral writing. The festival context suits its introspective character; audiences appreciate music that asks them to listen closely rather than follow conventional dramatic arcs.
Skills your students will build
- Reading and sustaining non-functional harmonic progressions
- Balancing text intelligibility within complex polyphonic textures
- Responding to subtle dynamic and color shifts in ensemble singing
- Interpreting contemporary compositional notation and performance directions