Availability
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.