Tag: text from literature

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Sauntering Songs (2022)

Cantata for 2 sopranos, 2 mezzo-sopranos, 2 tenors, baritone, bass-baritone, and SATB chamber choir, with flute, guitar (electric, acoustic, and classical), piano, and cello. 62 minutes.

Commissioned by Skylark Vocal Ensemble.

Photograph of dirt path through grassy hills, a figure walking in the distance

A love letter to wanderlust, this World Premiere commission weaves together art songs, choral music, and literature into an expansive cantata on the theme of walking.

Influences from rock, folk, and musical theater shine in a lyrical and evocative score by composer/librettist Nell Shaw Cohen, marrying the voices of three-time GRAMMY®-nominee Skylark with an instrumental quartet comprised of guitarist James Moore and musicians from Juventas New Music Ensemble.

From Walt Whitman to the present day, Sauntering Songs celebrates diverse characters who search for freedom and fulfillment through subversive journeys on foot.

Continue reading “Sauntering Songs (2022)”

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It’s a Long Way (2020)

SATB choir. 2 1/2 mins.

Commissioned by Skylark Vocal Ensemble.

Hear Skylark Vocal Ensemble’s brand new studio recording of It’s a Long Way, featured as the title track of their newest album! Available for purchase directly from Skylark and streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.

Watch a concert film of It’s a Long Way performed by Skylark Vocal Ensemble.

Listen to the World Premiere virtual quartet recording, made for educational use by Skylark Vocal Ensemble:

Watch a performance by the Massachusetts Music Educators Association Southeastern District (SEMMEA) Senior Festival Choir of 2021:

Perusal Score

View the perusal score.

Performance score is available for purchase. Please direct inquiries to Nell Shaw Cohen at nell@nellshawcohen.com.

Continue reading “It’s a Long Way (2020)”
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Blue Shadows, Silver Sunlight (2019)

SATB choir. 9 mins.

Live recording by Boston Choral Ensemble (Klo Garoute, Conductor):

Commissioned by Boston Choral Ensemble.

Any of the three movements may be programmed separately as standalone works for performance.

Perusal Score

View perusal score.

Performance score available for purchase. Please direct inquiries to Nell Shaw Cohen at nell@nellshawcohen.com.

Continue reading “Blue Shadows, Silver Sunlight (2019)”
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Dear Mrs. Carr (2015)

Tenor and piano. 5 mins.


Written for American Opera Projects Composers & the Voice fellowship. While working and living in Yosemite National Park during the late 19th century, the preservationist and naturalist John Muir (1838-1914) wrote many letters to his mentor, Jeanne Carr. These letters form the basis of this song’s text. Continue reading “Dear Mrs. Carr (2015)”

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Crescent Meadow (2014)

SATB choir. 4 ½ mins.


Rehearsal recording courtesy of SACRA/PROFANA.

A choral setting of text adapted from an essay by John Muir about Crescent Meadow in Sequoia National Park.

Perusal Score

View perusal score.

Performance score available for purchase. Please direct inquiries to Nell Shaw Cohen at nell@nellshawcohen.com.

Performance History
  • SACRA/PROFANA, Juan Carlos Acosta, conductor, Fallbrook Mission Theater, Fallbrook, CA, 3/27/22.
  • New Mexico Highlands University Concert Choir, André García-Nuthmann, conductor, New Mexico Highlands University, Ilfeld Auditorium, Las Vegas, NM, 4/23/17.