Bredon Hill

Description

Love and loss are the themes of this moving poem by A. E. Housman. The musical setting encapsulates the deep emotion inherent in the poem.

Juliana Hall’s song setting of A. E. Housman’s evocative poem Bredon Hill is part of tenor Daniel Shirley’s multi-year commissioning and recording project called “New Songs from Shropshire” consisting of new art songs for tenor and piano on the poetry of A. E. Housman (specifically ‘A Shropshire Lad’). Shirley wrote to Hall, “As you know, verses from ASL have been set by many of the prominent British composers (Somervell, Ireland, etc.), but fewer Americans. I believe that a volume of American compositions on these profound lyrics is long overdue. Importantly, I hope for the range of participating composers to reflect the diversity of America itself.” Shirley’s choice of composers certainly does just that, with contributions from composers Matt Boehler, Tom Cipullo, Scott Gendel, Juliana Hall, Edward Jacobs, Andre Myers, Mark Richardson, Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR), Kamala Sankaram, Melissa Shiflet, Fahad Siadat, Michael Slayton, Mark Alan Taggart, and Melinda Wagner. Bredon Hill was premiered on Monday, October 4, 2021 at Eastern Carolina University by faculty tenor Daniel Shirley and faculty pianist Eric Stellrecht.