Salsette Boat-Song

For mixed a capella choir and optional percussion

• Soprano 1
• Soprano 2
• Alto
• Tenor
• Baritone
• Bass
• Optional Percussion (Djembe)

ScoreFlipper audio from the Princeton High School Choir (NJ, USA) debut concert, April 2016.

The composer writes…

“I was inspired to compose this piece after reading “Salsette Boat–Song” by Rudyard Kipling, author of The Jungle Book and various short stories about British-controlled India in the early 20th century. The poem describes sailors travelling by boat (dhow) between India and Zanzibar, and I tried to combine the music of those cultures into one work.”

Text

They burnt a corpse upon the sand–
The light shone out afar;
It guided home the plunging dhows
That beat from Zanzibar.
Spirit of Fire, where’er Thy altars rise,
Thou art the Light of Guidance to our eyes!

Premiere by the Princeton High School Choir April 2016