Premiered June 12, 2016, this choral piece for 8 voices is a setting of the poem, of the same name, by George Orwell.

CVX 2016

The Pagan (Premiere)

Recorded June 12, 2016. Fresh From the Dewy Hill is from my song cycle, "Poetical Sketches", a setting of 3 poems by William Blake. Christopher Ellman, Tenor; Shawn Chang, Piano

Fresh From The Dewy Hill

Composed April 2020; Recorded May 2020 
Recording by Matthew Curtis (matthewcurtis.com)

Vidi speciosam sicut columbam
ascendentem desuper rivos aquarum:
I saw a beautiful woman, just as a dove,
Rising above from the brooks waters:

Cuius inaestimabilis odor erat nimis in
vestimentis eius.
Whose inestimable, erotic fragrance
Was [strong] in her garments.

Et sicut dies verni, flores rosarum
circumdabant eam, et lilia convallium.
And just as a spring day, she was encircled
By blossoms of roses, and lily of the valley.

Quae est ista, quae ascendit per desertum
sicut virgula fumi, ex aromatibus myrrhae
et thuris?
Who is this, who ascends from the desert
As a wand of smoke, from spices of myrrh
and frankincense?

Et sicut dies verni, flores rosarum
circumdabant eam, et lilia convallium.
And just as a spring day, she was encircled
By blossoms of roses, and lily of the valley

Vidi Speciosam

An accomplished and versatile musician from Kent, Ohio, Sam began his musical life on the piano at age 6.  As he grew up he explored several string and brass instruments, and voice. He dabbled in many forms and genres of music: playing bass with the Kent State Symphony, performing musical theater, writing and performing in numerous popular music bands, singing with the Cleveland Opera Chorus and Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, founding and directing a youth contemporary music choir at a local church in Kent, and performing on stages and in orchestra pits throughout Ohio and the Northeast US.

Sam moved to New York in 2008, where he performed at venues, including The Juilliard School, St Bartholomew’s Church, Avery Fisher Hall, The Stonewall Inn and Carnegie Hall. He has played bass for the internationally renowned cabaret artist, Micheline Van Houtem; composed and performed with the new music chorus, Chromatic Voice Exchange; played bass with The Chelsea Symphony and the Queer Urban Orchestra; and sang regularly with St. Bartholomew's Choir. In 2014, Sam made his television debut as a member of the fictitious "New York Symphony" in Amazon Studios' original series, "Mozart in the Jungle". Sam studied music composition with Lowell Liebermann at Mannes (The New School) from 2015-2017.

Sam moved to San Francisco in 2017 and currently studies composition with David Garner at SFCM. He also teaches privately, free-lances as a bassist and vocalist, and continues to write, arrange and record. He lives in the Castro, San Francisco.

Samuel C. Nedel

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