In Celebration of the Human Voice - The Essential Musical Instrument

There Will Come Soft Rains

Music by Sara Teasdale

"There Will Come Soft Rains" is a 12-line poem by Sara Teasdale. The work was first published in the July 1918 issue of Harper's Magazine, and later included in her 1920 collection Flame and Shadow[2] (see 1920 in poetry). The poem imagines nature reclaiming a battlefield after the fighting is finished. The poem also alludes to the idea of human extinction by war (lines 10 and 12), which was not a commonplace idea until the invention of nuclear weapons, 25 years later.

Release Date: 1918

Christopher Tin : The Lost Birds (An Extinction Elegy)

The Lost Birds is a musical memorial to bird species driven to extinction by humankind. Sweeping and elegaic, it's a haunting tribute to those soaring flocks that once filled our skies, but whose songs have since been silenced. It's a celebration of their feathered beauty: their symbolism as messengers of hope, peace, and renewal. But it's also a warning about our own tenuous existence on the planet: that the fate that befell those once soaring flocks foreshadows our own extinction.

Songlist: Intermezzo, There Will Come Soft Rains, Flocks A Mile Wide, Bird Raptures, A Hundred Thousand Birds, Thus In The Winter, In the End

Individual Folios

Displaying 1-6 of 6 items.

Douglas Beam : There Will Come Soft Rains

The music for this setting of Teasdale's poem highlights the tension in the text between the beauty of nature and the violence human beings inflict on themselves. In the closing measures of the piece, the composer restates the opening line of the text to reinforce the cyclical patterns in nature: despite humanity's penchant toward violence, the rain will come and spring will begin again.

Composer: Douglas Beam | Poetry By: Sara Teasdale

Rob Teehan : There Will Come Soft Rains

This beautiful Sara Teasdale poem presents, initially, a comforting vision of the natural beauty of a world returning to equilibrium until we realize that it can only happen after humans are removed from the natural equation. Written a century ago, this timely text is set by Rob Teehan in a lush, colorful style which will allow your choir to focus on the poignant text. Duration: ca. 3:30

Composer: Rob Teehan | Poetry By: Sara Teasdale

Laura Farnell : There Will Come Soft Rains

Laura Farnell has set a popular Sarah Teasdale poem in this hauntingly beautiful piece for two-part treble choir. It will make an elegant choice for Concert and Festival performance.

Composer: Laura Farnell | Poetry By: Sara Teasdale

Brian W Holmes : There Will Come Soft Rains

Two poems by Sara Teasdale contrast the sadness and ugliness of war with the resilience and splendor of nature in springtime. A masterful setting of these profound texts, with great word painting and sensitivity, it would fit especially well in thematic concerts about war or peace or nature.

Composer: Brian W Holmes | Poetry By: Sara Teasdale

Kevin Memley : There Will Come Soft Rains

Impressions is a set of three outstanding pieces by Kevin Memley for treble voices. The texts are favorites of many and Kevin's treatments are exquisite masterpieces. Although the 3 selections are released separately, they are best presented as a trilogy. High school and college.

Composer: Kevin Memley | Poetry By: Sara Teasdale

Ruth Morris Gray : There Will Come Soft Rains

Pensive and poignant, the poem describes nature's response to war. Haunting and harmonic, the music captures the ear. A perfect marriage of words and music, appropriate for developing choirs as well as advanced ensembles.

Composer: Ruth Morris Gray | Poetry By: Sara Teasdale