This page will link you the full score of Baruch Skeer's "Song of Songs", completed in 1994 and premiered at a private wedding by Cindy Richards Wallace in August of 1994.

• Click here to view a PDF file containing the two pages of the score.
• Click here to download a 3.5Mb .MP3 file recording of the entire piece (or listen to it on SoundCloud here).
• Click here to access a podcast of an archived February 26, 2005 radio broadcast of the entire piece on Kalvos & Damian's New Music Bazaar.
  (Use the scroll bar to move forward to 00:32:04. Expanding to full screen will help in manipulating the scroll bar.
  The recording is proceeded by an introduction at 00:31:10 and followed by futher commentary as well.)

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About the Piece

The text for "Song of Songs" is the traditional Hebrew "I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine," Song of Songs 6:3, often recited by Jewish brides, combined with the nearby "This is my beloved, this is my friend," found in Song of Songs 5:10-5:16. The texts are traditionally attributed to King Solomon. The composer has set the text for an a cappella soprano voice.

About the Piece's Origins

The piece was composed especially for a wedding. A quartet was hired, and a third piece for soprano was needed to use with a pre-existing alto/tenor duet and baritone solo.

About the Music

An investigation into the mordent ornament placed within a shifting modal language, the piece is ostensibly in B flat minor, with trips to B flat major and other tonalities. The setting is slow and sweet, and the word painting even includes a cawing raven. The piece reaches a high B flat in the final page, but the real challenge is the piano high A flat half note that starts the repetition of the opening word phrase at the end.

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Last Updated: July 5, 2023