This evocative SATB setting of Walter Savage Landor’s text opens with a quiet, deliberate line, “Death stands above me, whispering low.” Then overlapping entrances create a hushed, suspenseful atmosphere as the four-part texture gathers intensity.

As the piece moves into page 2, the music expands into fuller homophonic writing, retaining the whispered, intimate character while deepening the harmonic color—especially in passages like “low I know not what into my ear” (mm. 12–17). The repetition of key phrases gives the text a meditative, almost incantatory quality, ending with a soft, suspended cadence that dissolves into stillness.

This short, atmospheric work is ideal for advanced high-school, collegiate, or adult choirs seeking a reflective, expressive miniature with a dark, poetic edge.

Voices:

Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass