MusicSpoke | Artist Owned Sheet Music™

About the Score

Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem The Oak compares the ups and downs of human life to those of an oak tree’s life cycle. Bright in the spring, rich in the summer, more subdued in the autumn, and bare in the winter, the oak continues resilient and strong throughout the various seasons. We do not judge the oak tree for its hardships and appearance in the winter, but marvel at its strength. We may learn to offer ourselves the same courtesy. The opening pedal tone in the bass represents the trunk of the tree, while the space in the upper voices portrays the branches spread out above. The contrapuntal sections depict the passage of time and changing of the seasons. At the center of the piece, harmonies spread out from a unison, depicting the oak’s renewed life in spring after a desolate winter. The closing material reflects the opening - transposed down a fifth – to demonstrate that the oak, though starting another year, is older and wiser for the journey thus far.

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