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sai-national.org • Winter 2023 19 Cposers Prayer in the Prospect of Death. It could be Tam's prayer, also: Where with intention I have err'd No other plea I have, But ou art Good; and Goodness still Delighteth to forgive. e Tam o' Shanter tale has been an inspiration for a number of composers. I recently wrote a 30-minute dramatic work on the poem for soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, piccolo, oboe, horn, trombone, and string ensemble. In my work, Tam's tale is gradually unfolded, sung by the baritone, and alternatively unfolded is Burns' John Barleycorn ballad, sung by the tenor and soprano. John Barleycorn is a wonderfully clever poem where the making of John Barleycorn, or whisky, is likened to the crucifixion of Christ. I also set two more of Burns' poems: Winter Dirge, and O Whistle and I'll Come to Ye, my Lad. I set almost all of the lines of Burns' Tam o' Shanter poem. e work was premiered in January 2023 by Dakota Pro Musica under the direction of Dr. Jason oms. Aer I wrote my setting, I began to explore what other composers had done. I already knew the Malcolm Arnold piece from my teaching in Scotland. I searched the internet and found two other works, so in total, counting my piece, I studied in depth four settings: Howard Glover's (1819-1875) A Characteristic Cantata on the poem from 1855; George Whitefield Chadwick's (1854-1931) 20-minute tone poem from 1914; Malcolm Arnold's (1921-2006) eight-minute overture from 1955; and my dramatic work written this past year. I was able to purchase from a bookseller in England what appears to be one of the few remaining published scores of Howard Glover's Tam o' Shanter, which has his initials [H. G.] on the title page. is 30-minute A Characteristic Cantata is for tenor soloist, mixed choir, and orchestra. Glover sets about half of the text of the poem with recitatives, brief arias, and chorus sections. e work was premiered on July 3, 1855 by the New Philharmonic Society at London's Exeter Hall under the direction of none other than Hector Berlioz. It was one of the performances on a lengthy concert that also included a work by Berlioz. Glover received a very favorable review on July 7, 1855 in the Musical World. Since there appears to be no existing performance or recording of the work, I transcribed excerpts from the score to FINALE to hear what it might have sounded like, and it was certainly inspired by the works of Mendelssohn. Berlioz wrote in a letter that "Glover's cantata was very pungent in style, but difficult, and which made me sweat until the stream of the Stand swelled." ` Chadwick's Tam o' Shanter tone-poem is for a large, late 19th—early 20th century orchestra and is one of his masterpieces. Chadwick conducted its premiere in 1915, and in a later performance in 1927 by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, it was on the same program with the premiere of Roger Sessions' Symphony in E minor, Richard Strauss's Death and Transfiguration and Salome's Dance from Salome. Chadwick was one of the most significant American composers of the early 1900s and was part of the Second New England School that included John Knowles Paine, Horatio Parker, Amy Beach, Arthur Foote, and Edward MacDowell. He was an extremely prolific composer, an influential teacher, and a significant head administrator at New England Conservatory for 30 years. His Tam o' Shanter is equal to any tone poem by Strauss and needs to be rediscovered and become part of the standard repertoire of symphony orchestras. Arnold's Tam o' Shanter is an eight-minute masterpiece that has received many performances at pops concerts in England over the past 60 years. It was first premiered at the Proms on August 17, 1955 with the composer conducting and was the most popular piece of that season. Arnold was a very controversial and prolific composer, who also won an Academy Award for his film score to the movie e Bridge on the River Kwai. I was able to purchase a digital download of his manuscript score from the National Library Glover's title page with initials H. G.; Glover's title page with initials H. G.; (London: Chappell and Company, 1855) (London: Chappell and Company, 1855) rare book owned by the author. rare book owned by the author.

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