Ted Runcie, composer

“Where Shadow Chases Light” is a lyric poem by the great Indian writer and philosopher, Rabindranath Tagore, the first non-European to win a Nobel Prize in Literature. In this setting by Ted Runcie, the first delicate sigh of the clarinet instantly pulls the listener into the longing heart of the speaker whose patient expectation and growing anticipation swell with each happy indication that the long-awaited arrival is imminent. Through subtle chromatic shifts and instrumental effects, and with the beautifully undulating lines of the soprano and mezzo voices, the music weaves an enchanting aural painting of Tagore’s poem. The piece is scored for soprano and mezzo voices and a chamber ensemble made up of clarinet, French horn, two violins, viola, cello and piano.

Where Shadow Chases Light: Words by Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), Music by Ted Runcie

This is my delight,
thus to wait and watch at the wayside
where shadow chases light
and the rain comes in the wake of the summer.
Messengers, with tidings from unknown skies,
greet me and speed along the road.
My heart is glad within,
and the breath of the passing breeze is sweet.
From dawn till dusk I sit here before my door,
and I know that of a sudden
the happy moment will arrive when I shall see.
In the meanwhile I smile and I sing all alone.
In the meanwhile the air is filling with the perfume of promise.

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