Set Me as a Seal (2017)

For SATB chorus, unaccompanied; premiered Sunday, February 11, 2018, 11:00 A.M. at King's Chapel, Boston under the direction of Heinrich Christensen; performed as part of the service.

Set Me as a Seal is a setting of text commonly excerpted from the Song of Solomon, 8:6.  Unlike many settings of the same text, the Ramsay work reflects an introspective, sober interpretation of this biblical passage which is so often associated with marriage services:

Set me as a seal upon thine heart,
As a seal upon thine arm:
For love is strong as death;
Many waters cannot quench love,
Neither can the floods drown it.

                    from Song of Solomon, 8:6 (King James version)

The piece runs approximately 4 minutes and 30 seconds.  It is dedicated to Leigh Royden and John Diniz.