A series of three connected songs which set poems by Cilla McQueen.
Opus No : 110
Category : Choir unaccompanied
Year : 2004
Duration : 7 minutes
Texts: poems by Cilla McQueen, from the cycle entitled 'Rope'
Commissioned by : Tower NZ Youth Choir
Instrumentation: SSAATTBB
Level :
4 - challenging for professional musicians
Available from
the composer
Tower NZ Voices, for Trust Records
Widow's Songs (2004) consist of three settings of poems by Cilla McQueen, taken from her cycle of poems called 'Rope'. They attempt to describe thoughts and feelings of a woman grieving for her dead husband. In the process, surrounding images and activities seem to take on extra meaning. In the second song, for example, making bread becomes too difficult to do because of the memories it stirs. The style of the songs is intimate and aims to exploit the beauty of the voice to evoke feelings. Widow's Song is one of several works by Ritchie inspired by Cilla McQueen's poems, including an opera called The Trapeze Artists and the well-known song Dogwobble.
These songs were commissioned by Tower NZ Youth Choir, for performance by the a capella chamber choir, Tower Voices New Zealand. It was written for a premiere performance in the Otago Arts festival, October, 2004.