MICHAEL BERKELEY (b. 1948)Three Songs to Children (2002)

This chapter looks at British composer Michael Berkeley’s Three Songs to Children (2002). This early piece, recently revised, is ideal for a young artist’s recital. Unpretentious and straightforward in its demands, it has a haunting charm and freshness. In addition to higher voices, a light mezzo could sing it comfortably, since there are no extremes of tessitura. The individual essence of three great but fundamentally different poets is mirrored in the contrasting treatment of the settings. The first—‘A Cradle Song’ (W. B. Yeats)—is a tender, rocking lullaby; the central, longest song—‘Sonnet to a Child’ (Wilfred Owen)—digs deeper, capturing the vibrant imagery and poignant reflections in more rhetorical style; and the third—‘A Child Asleep’ (Walter de la Mare)—is bound together by a continuous running accompaniment. The composer favours a tonal idiom, sometimes modal, and shows a predilection for sudden key shifts. Cues and doublings in the accompaniment are generally helpful. The lithe vocal lines move easily over a wide range and phrasing is well thought out, but there are a few unexpected quirks in syllabic groupings, including changes of accent and syncopation, which give added life to the rhythms.