Digital Download
23730718
Four Birds and a Fly
23730718
23730718
23730718
Details
Chorus Choir (SSAATTBB) - Level 4 - Digital Download
SKU: A0.1889785
Composed by Edmund Jolliffe. This edition: pdf, streaming. 21st Century, A Cappella, Comedy, Contemporary, Contest, Festival. 28 pages. Reify Music Ltd #1448389. Published by Reify Music Ltd (A0.1889785).Four Birds and a Fly (Duration 10-12 minutes) is drawn from a larger set of pieces entitled The Imaginary Menagerie. Inspired by the nonsense poetry of Edward Lear and Lewis Caroll I set a selection of animal themed texts as some light-hearted relief from more serious composition. These settings gradually grew into a small collection, five movements of which are performed this evening.
The appeal of these texts is their brevity, often focusing on a single image or idea. The compositional challenge is to capture this in musical form. While the music is not intended to be taken too seriously, it explores a range of moods and characters, enjoyable for performers and listeners alike.
The first movement, perhaps appropriately, looks at the conundrum of which came first – the chicken or the egg. The second movement is about a slightly confused cuckoo, followed by a graceful swan and then a majestic eagle. The final poem is a little more philosophical - William Oldys muses about a fly drinking from his cup and compares their lifespans, both insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
This piece was premiered by Selwyn College Chapel Choir conducted by Sarah Macdonald in March 2026.
This product was created by a member of ArrangeMe, Hal Leonard's global self-publishing community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. ArrangeMe allows for the publication of unique arrangements of both popular titles and original compositions from a wide variety of voices and backgrounds.
About Digital Downloads
Digital Downloads are downloadable sheet music files that can be viewed directly on your computer, tablet or mobile device. Once you download your digital sheet music, you can view and print it at home, school, or anywhere you want to make music, and you don't have to be connected to the internet. Just purchase, download and play!
PLEASE NOTE: Your Digital Download will have a watermark at the bottom of each page that will include your name, purchase date and number of copies purchased. You are only authorized to print the number of copies that you have purchased. You may not digitally distribute or print more copies than purchased for use (i.e., you may not print or digitally distribute individual copies to friends or students).
See Similar Sheet Music and Digital Downloads