Hope is the Thing with Feathers

SSA with Piano

Posted by Natalie Cardillo | ChoralPop

🕰 Style & Background

Inspired by the famous poem by Emily Dickinson, Hope is the Thing with Feathers is a gentle, lyrical contemporary choral setting that brings literary text to life with elegant harmonies and expressive phrasing. Ideal for choirs looking to explore tone, blend, and interpretive depth, this piece offers a moment of stillness and beauty in any concert program.

• Text by: Emily Dickinson

• Music by: Emma Lou Diemer

• Language: English (USA)

• Style: Contemporary choral with classical influence

• Time Period: 21st Century / Text: 19th Century poetry

💡 Why This Piece Works

Hope is the Thing with Feathers is a moving, introspective piece that gives your ensemble space to listen, breathe, and sing with unity. Its literary origins make it a great interdisciplinary programming choice, and its text-driven composition offers a refreshing contrast to beat-heavy or pop-dominant pieces.

This is a piece that works not just musically, but emotionally — a reminder that hope, like music, “never stops at all.”

🎯 Ideal for These Concerts

• ✅ Winter Concerts

• ✅ Spring Concerts

• ✅ Thematic Programs (e.g., hope, nature, poetry, stillness)

• ✅ Graduation / Senior Send-Off

• ⚠️ Pops concerts (only if programming a reflective piece)

• ✅ Festival Repertoire

🌎 Geographic Origin

• Text: American literature (Emily Dickinson, Massachusetts)

• Arrangement: U.S. contemporary choral

🎵 Musical Characteristics

Melodic Range

• Soprano 1: C4–G5

• Alto: A3–C5
  Tenor Accessibility: ✅ Yes — fully comfortable for treble-range singers
  Solo Range: None required — ensemble-driven piece

Key & Tonality

• Primarily in F Major

• Modal hints (occasionally Aeolian in bridge section)
  Solfege Accessibility: Moderate – largely diatonic with brief modal shifts for color

Rhythmic Complexity

• Mostly in simple meter (4/4 and 3/4)

• Pacing and tempo shifts require interpretive sensitivity

Text Clarity & Diction

• Excellent opportunity to work on clear diction through quick passages, poetic delivery, and quiet breath support

Harmonic Density

• Open triads, suspensions, and occasional close harmony

• Emotional swells created through dynamic contrast, not dissonance

Form & Repetition

• Through-composed feel with recurring text motifs

• Dynamic and textural build toward final statement of “and never stops at all”

• Motivic structure rather than traditional verse-chorus

📩 Price Comparison Summary

Sheet Music Plus Physical Octavo $1.70 View

Sheet Music Plus Digital Octavo $2.25 View

J.W. Pepper Physical Octavo $2.39 View

J.W. Pepper Digital Download $2.25 View

GIA Publications Digital PDF Download $2.40 View