"Over hill, over dale," from "A Midsummer Night's Dream," was set to music for "Hark, Hark, the Lark," by College of Music Associate Director of Choral Studies Andrea Ramsey.
Mendelssohn. Tchaikovsky. Berlioz. Over the last 400 years, music has seen听pen symphonies, ballets, operas and songs inspired by the works of William Shakespeare. The Bard鈥檚 sweeping love stories, epic tragedies and rhythmic writing style lend themselves to music.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a timelessness and a depth to Shakespeare,鈥� says Associate Director of Choral Studies Andrea Ramsey. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot to dig into. And the form is nice to work with as a musician. There鈥檚 a flow to it.鈥�
Now Ramsey and a handful of other composers are part of a new collection of Shakespeare settings, 鈥�.鈥� Released in the fall by Oxford University Press, the compilation commemorates the 400th听anniversary of Shakespeare鈥檚 death.
The collection of eight settings features parts for upper voices, and includes songs inspired by 鈥淗amlet鈥� and 鈥淎s You Like It鈥� and some of Shakespeare鈥檚 most beloved poems. Ramsey鈥檚 piece, 鈥淥ver hill, over dale,鈥� is based on a song sung by the spritely fairy Puck in 鈥淎 Midsummer Night鈥檚 Dream.鈥� In the midst of a light-hearted story about love and mischief, the song is sung as Puck encounters a fairy in the woods who is on an errand for the fairy queen Titania.
鈥淭he book has a number of popular Shakespearean texts, but there are also some lesser-known settings that are just beautifully musical,鈥� Ramsey explains. 鈥淭hey chose 鈥極ver hill, over dale鈥� because it was both well-known and because it worked well with music.鈥�
While the text was already chosen for her, Ramsey says the musical choices were hers. 鈥淚 mostly wanted to capture the lightness,鈥� she explains. 鈥淭he opening is sparkly, as Puck is flying around. It鈥檚 dance-like and changes meter throughout.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a darker section, when the notes are heavier and lower on the piano to denote the strength of the queen鈥檚 bodyguard. Then the piece slows slightly as Puck says goodbye.鈥�
Other composers featured in the book include Alan Bullard and Stephen Hatfield. More information is available on the.
