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Score 0-571-53213-6 on sale

Programme Notes

This has perhaps the most unusual text of the Four American Choruses. Sankey’s hymn book explains that the fountain concerned was originally a central display at the Chicago Industrial Exhibition, which became a frequent meeting place for social gatherings. The author of the text chose to reinterpret the then frequently-heard phrase ‘Will you meet me at the fountain?’ in a more spiritual light. I have followed the author’s lead, setting the words in a more intimate style than the preceding choruses. Towards the middle, the music takes on elements of a blues, with the chorus functioning increasingly as a close harmony backing-group to more florid solo lines and this remains a prominent feature to the end of the work.

At the Fountain

Temple Church (London, United Kingdom)

Marcello Palazzo/Durham University Chamber Choir

At the Fountain

St Margaret's, Crossgate (Durham, United Kingdom)

Durham University Chamber Choir/Marcello Palazzo

At the Fountain

Gonville and Caius College (Cambridge, United Kingdom)

Choir of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge/Geoffrey Webber

At the Fountain

Gonville and Caius College (Cambridge, United Kingdom)

Choir of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge/Geoffrey Webber

At the Fountain

Guildhall School of Music and Drama (London, United Kingdom)

Guildhall School of Music students/James Weeks