Death Stands Above Me - (2010) ![](images/01_Little_Green_Dot.gif)
Walter Savage Landor
for baritone and piano
Death stands above me, whispering low
I know not what into my ear:
Of his strange language all I know
Is, there is not a word of fear.
[ 2 pages, circa 1' 30" ]
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Walter Savage Landor
Walter Savage Landor (1775-1864) was an English writer and poet, best known for his prose work, Imaginary Conversations, and the poem, "Rose Aylmer."
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These sweet few lines bespeak my credo, as it has become ever more simplified away into a simple trust in the many powers greater than myself. For this, in the last few days I was rereading Campbell's Myths to Live By, New York, Bantam, 1972. Absorbed as he was in eastern myths as more informative than the Judeo-Christian tradition and Western myths, and noticing how sweetly partisan this academic celebrity for some traditions as against others. I prefer a stance which allows others their beliefs, according to the old fashioned "live and let live" mentality. I resonate with Landor that there is "no fear."
The open-spaced, diatonic triads move gently through a long meter's notation, as the vocal line sings a simple Dorian melody at first.
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The end of the text moves from Dorian to its rest in the tonic major, followed by a reprise of the accompaniment gestures now extended into a short interlude. The vocal line ends with the third of the tonic as a reflection of the affirmative stance of the text.
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The score is available as a free PDF download, though any major commercial performance or recording of the work is prohibited without prior arrangement with the composer. Click on the graphic below for this piano-vocal score.
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Death Stands Above Me
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