Date: 1984
Text: excerpts from Ulysses by Alfred Lord Tennyson
Instrumentation: SATB chorus, soprano solo, baritone solo, 4 flutes, percussion
Commission: Carol Poolman and the Toledo Masterworks Chorale
Dedication: For Carol Poolman and the Toledo Masterworks Chorale
Premiere: Masterworks Chorale; Carol Poolman, director. Covenant United Presbyterian Church. Toledo, OH. June 9, 1984
Duration: 13′30″
Publication: contact composer
Recording: Access Records (1985). JRC 85042
Supported in part by funding from the Ohio Arts Council
Review: “Marilyn Shrude, who teaches at Bowling Green State University, is a composer of rare insights and unusual tastes. Having heard some of her music, no two pieces are even near alike. The premiere of her Chorale-commissioned “Lines from Tennyson,” from “Ulysses,” proved to be a huge success. Using percussion, four flutes, baritone (Keith Smeltzer) and soprano (Joan Eckermann) soloists, and the Chorale, the music is an elegiac exploration in sound, and the text is reflective, thoughtful. The music seemed to have a strong oriental influence in the use of percussion and some other effects, such as whispering, chanting, unison, and so on. But it is more than just being different. It holds together very well, and it was performed with much empathy.” Boris Nelson. The Toledo Blade. 6/11/84.