I shall light a candle SATB

This piece interweaves two texts, one from a Bengali song about the uncertainty of life, the other, from 2 Esdras 14v25, offering a ‘candle of understanding’. The Bengali song first appears as a duet between soprano and alto voices. Tenors then introduce the Apocryphal text and a new melody, against a flickering chordal background representing the light of a candle. In the last third of the piece, the two melodies and texts are combined. It’s effective to add a light percussion accompaniment (e.g. tambourine on the three main beats of each bar, and light drum taps on each eighth note – as in the synthesised realization).

Also available for SSAA voices.

The performance is by Rudsambee company of singers, and differs slightly from the revised edition that we sell.