When David Heard Cover Image

When David Heard: SATB & 3 Solo Voices Choral Octavo

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When David Heard Cover Image
When David Heard: SATB & 3 Solo Voices Choral Octavo

When David Heard: SATB & 3 Solo Voices Choral Octavo

By Matthew Martin

Item: 12-0571571379
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Description
When David Heard was written as a memorial to the victims of the 2011 terrorist attacks in Oslo and Utoya. It sets the well-known and intense passage from 2 Samuel and intersperses it with a verse from Psalm 39: "Lord, let me know mine end," scored for three solo voices. After opening with a powerful declamatory passage, the music switches rapidly between contemplative and more dramatic material, reflecting the mood of the two texts and playing out the musical narrative. This gradually fades over repeated invocations of the Psalm, leaving a solitary tenor voice hanging in the air. - See more at: http://www.fabermusicstore.com/When-David-Heard-0571571379.aspx#sthash.b9aCdYDx.dpuf

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Additional Details
Series: Faber Edition: Choral Signature Series
Publisher: Faber Music
ISBN10: 0-571-57137-9
ISBN13: 978-0-571-57137-6
UPC: 9780571571376
SKU: 12-0571571379

More about this title

About the Composer: Matthew Martin

Matthew Martin is a British composer whose work spans sacred choral music, orchestral writing, and chamber pieces. His compositions are characterized by emotional directness and structural clarity, making them accessible to performers while maintaining artistic depth. Martin's approach to text-setting draws on both contemporary techniques and traditional harmonic language, allowing choirs to connect authentically with the poetry and meaning they're communicating.

Why we love this

Martin's treatment of these two texts creates genuine dramatic tension without resorting to bombast. The interplay between full choir and solo voices, along with the rapid shifts between contemplative and forceful material, gives your singers concrete interpretive challenges that feel purposeful and moving.

What to expect

Grief unfolds across this piece in waves. It opens with raw, almost confrontational declamation, then draws inward into quieter, questioning passages before swelling again. By the end, when a single tenor voice echoes alone, the emotional journey feels complete and reverberent.

Who it's for

Choirs with strong soloists and the vocal maturity to navigate both meditative and dramatic material. This work demands singers who understand text-driven interpretation and can sustain intensity through contrasting moods.

How to get the most out of it

  • Prepare your three soloists separately from the main choir rehearsals so they can develop security and ownership of their exposed material before integrating with full ensemble.
  • Shape the declamatory opening with clear, unified articulation across the SATB voices; the text's intensity depends on precision rather than volume alone.
  • Mark the tempo shifts in full score and parts so singers understand which moments require restraint and which invite more dramatic delivery.
  • Give special attention to the final tenor solo and the fade that follows; this requires stillness from the full choir and absolute focus from your soloist.

How to use it

Pair this with other sacred choral works that share its introspective quality and textual depth. It works well as a centerpiece in a concert exploring loss, resilience, and spiritual questioning, or as a powerful closer that leaves audiences in reflective silence.

Skills your students will build

  • Text painting and mood interpretation across contrasting musical sections
  • Balancing full choir sound with exposed solo voices
  • Sustaining intensity through declamatory passages
  • Reading and performing rapid dynamic and tempo changes
  • Ensemble precision while maintaining expressive, speech-like phrasing

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