Text by William Ernest Henley (1849–1903)
Performed by Matthew Curtis

This piece is a setting of the famed Victorian poem of the same name by William Ernest Henley. Henley grew up in poverty, the son of a stuggling bookseller who died when Henley was a teenager. As a child, Henley was diagnosed with tuberculosis of the bone which necessitated an amputation of one of his legs. Later, in his twenties, Henley was told he would have to lose the other leg as well, but instead sought an alternative treatment. Over the course of the next few years, Henley was treated at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, where he began to write poetry, including this then-untitled poem. Decades later, Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, when including it in his Oxford Book of English Verse, would title the poem “Invictus”, which in Latin means “unconquered”.

Text

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

– William Ernest Henley (1849–1903)

Get the sheet music

"Invictus" for SSAATTBB choir - Casey Rule

Composed by Stephen Paulus

To purchase sheet music for this piece, use this link:
http://stephenpaulus.com/products/poemas-de-amor


Poemas de Amor: V. Mano a Mano

Poemas de Amor: IV. Si lo dicen, digan

Poemas de Amor: III. Pasas Por Mi Calle

Poemas de Amor: II. De Tu Cama A La Mia

Poemas de Amor: I. Sonaba

The Heroine Triumphant links four songs of the 1890s which together trace the story of a young girl who comes to town in search of her brother (“Mother Was a Lady”); she is cruelly deceived by a drummer, an unscrupulous low-life, claiming to know her brother.  He proposes marriage, but in “Take Back Your Gold we find his intentions are less than honorable.  The heroine finds herself alone and cast out in “She Is More To Be Pitied Than Censured.”  Finally, she rises above her misery and woe to find a new life in “Ta-ra-ra-Boom-de-ay!”

The opening barbershop quartet may be sung by a small ensemble, but the character voices of the narrator and the drummer should be assigned to soloists.  The Heroine Triumphant easily lends itself to some simple staging.

“Mother Was a Lady” (or “If Jack Were Only Here”)
Words by Edward B. Marks; music by Joseph W. Stern
Original copyright by Jos. W Stern & Co, 1896

“Take Back Your Gold”
Words by Louis Pritzkow; music by Monroe H. Rosenfeld
Original copyright by Jos. W Stern & Co, 1897

“She is More To Be Pitied Than Censured”
Words and music by William B. Gray
Original copyright Wm. B. Gray, 1898

“Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Ay!”
Words and music credited to Henry J. Sayers, 1891

Second Annual Valentine's Day Concert

The Heroine Triumphant - Steven Sametz

Magnificat anima mea Dominum
et exsultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo.
Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae:
ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnet,
Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est:
et sanctum nomen ejus.

Et misericordia a progenie in progenies
in progenies timentibus eum.
Fecit potentiam in brachio suo dispersit superbos
mente cordis sui Deposuit potentes de sede,
et exaltavit humiles.

Esurientes implevit bonis:
et divites inanes.
Suscepit Israel puerum suum
recordatus misericordiae suae.
Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros,
Abraham et semini ehus in saecula.

Gloria Patri, et Filio,
et Spiritui Sancto.
Sicut erat in principio,
et nunc, at semper,
et in saecula saeculorum.

Amen.

I Have Had Singing — Choral Music by Steven Sametz

Magnificat - Steven Sametz

Karen Siegel conducts C4 in a performance of Seawall, by Jamie Klenetsky Fay.

Composer: Jamie Klenetsky Fay
Conductor: Karen Siegel

Soprano
Rebecca Ehren
Noele Flowers
Christina Kay
Melissa Wozniak

Alto
Maya Ben-Meir
Jamie Klenetsky Fay
Erin Halpin
Jane Lawson
Beth Marker
Leonore Nelson

Tenor
Ben Arendsen
Nate Barnett
Mario Gullo
Joseph Prestamo
Casey Rule
Richard Tucker
Grant Yosenick

Bass
Daniel Andor-Ardó
Hayes Biggs
Brian Mountford
Perry Townsend
David See

Composed November 2016, Recorded March 18, 2017
Church of Saint Luke in the Fields, New York, NY

Audio Recording
Noriko Okabe

Collaborations

Jamie Klenetsky Fay: Seawall

Fans of Panos rejoice! Come along with Maggie and Emma as we take you through the mysteries and meltdowns of Mykonos with the eccentric Lohan Beach Club brand ambassadors.

"Invictus" for SSAATTBB choir - Casey Rule

Casey Rule

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