Andrew Earle Simpson

Go to your Homes, Great Children of Night (Finale from The Furies, opera in one act, 2006)

Instrumentation	SATB chorus; 2vn, va, vc, db, pno, perc (tri, sus cym, tt, bd). Also available for SATB chorus and piano
Duration	5:00
Movements	1
Premiere	2/9/06, The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC
Performers	The Catholic University of America Opera Theater, Adam Turner, cond
Commissioned by	N/A
Recording	Live performance
Publication	Composer
Performance History	World Premiere, 2/9/06, Catholic University of America Chorus and Chamber Players, CUA, Washington, DC
pdf score sample	Click here for an excerpt of the chamber ensemble score.
mp3 sample	Complete piece: click here.

Program Notes

This chorus is the finale of The Furies, my third one-act opera on Aeschylus' ancient Greek tragic cycle, the Oresteia.  Contrary to the commonly-held notion about Greek tragedy, this particular play (entitled The Eumenides) ends happily.  The singers are the citizens of Athens, who welcome the now-benign goddesses, the Furies, to their new homes in their city.   The Furies (SSAA) also join the chorus in a single melodic line.  The citizens rejoice and praise these powerful goddesses, who were once bent on destroying Athens, and process with them as they escort them to their new home beneath the city's Acropolis. 

The chorus consists of repetitions, with ever more counter-melodies, of a single melody.  This melody , original to me, emulates Greek folk song in its pitch and scale structure, and also has the curious feature of ending a half-step higher.  Thus, each repetition of the melody also brings with it a modulation.  The work begins softly, with a single line, but builds steadily to a powerful conclusion. 

This chorus was first performed as part of The Furies' premiere production at Catholic University in February 2006.