This setting of the iconic poem by Christina Rossetti began as a song for soprano – first with piano and then with orchestra.  Another version followed for choir and string quartet, and it seemed inevitable that a purely a cappella setting would eventually appear.

The deep yearning of the words certainly calls out for musical expression and, with unadulterated vocal textures, it is possible for the full impact of bereavement on the human soul to be powerfully and uniquely conveyed.

The original instrumental introduction and interludes have word underlay rather than open vowel sounds, and it is important that these passages become contrasted in dynamic and timbre to the pillar-like components of Rossetti’s poetry.