Pretty Saro SATB - Julia J. Evans

Premiered at my senior recital, April 10, 2024, in the Ballroom at Southern Virginia University.
Text: Traditional folksong
A few years ago, I happily chanced upon a 1963 album titled "Folk Roots, New Routes" by English folk artist Shirley Collins. Featured in that album, "Pretty Saro" is an English folk ballad that died out in England by the mid-1700s, but later gained popularity in the Appalachian mountains in the early 1900s. While the oral tradition through which this song was preserved means there are many variations on the tune and lyrics, I followed Shirley Collins’ version fairly closely. Much of the harmonization and arrangement of this piece was inspired by some of my favorite folk-song arrangers, Gustav Holst and Zoltán Kodály.