SKU: MQ.8476-E

English.

Down to the River to Pray originates as an American gospel song with a simple message of faith and baptism, going 'down to the river.' However, it is thought that the song was composed by a slave, with reference to the river and the 'starry crown' (North Star) as a route and guide to freedom.

Usually the song is performed a cappella, and slowly, prayerfully. However, the walking aspect of the lyrics might suggest a different approach – one of swing rhythm in duple meter. Here the focus is on the journey, the joy of the pilgrimage, and the hope for freedom.

The accompaniment (either piano, or brass and percussion) plays a featured role, especially as rhythmic force. The song now becomes one of triumphant progression, hastening on the 'good old way!'-Gwyneth Walker

SKU: A0.900166

ILLUMINE LE TENEBRE (SSAATTBB)

For Jean Saladino and the Viterbo University Concert Choir

TRANSLATION of TEXT:

Most High, glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my heart and give me true faith, certain hope and perfect charity, sense and knowledge, Lord, that I may carry out your holy and true command. Amen. - St. Francis of Assisi's Prayer before the Crucifix

NOTES from the composer:

One year ago, I had the privilege of participating in the Leadership Pilgrimage to Assisi and Rome (2011) sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, Franciscan Healthcare, and Viterbo University.  I carried with me, not only the responsibility of bringing back a hint of Francis’ lived experience to my students, but the desire to compose something wholly Franciscan.

The San Damiano Cross is one of the most distinctive Franciscan images we have on campus.  The gentle Jesus that hangs on this 12th-century icon will forever be linked to Francis’ dramatic step from citizen to sainthood-welcoming his earnest prayer to enlighten the darkness of his heart.  The Basilica of Santa Chiara in Assisi holds both the San Damiano Cross and the remains of his confidante, St. Clare.  It seemed a good place to start getting serious.

Copying the prayer in at least six different languages, I tucked it away in my travel books, not digging it out again until the following summer (2012).  The opening phrases in the piece came easily enough (Altissimo, glorioso Dio), but I stumbled through a handful of ideas before coming up with the mantra (illumine le tenebre…).  It made sense that Francis would joyfully address God singing forte (Altissimo and Signore), while quietly chanting his humble prayers for faith, hope, charity, and knowledge.

The friendship between Francis and Clare can’t be missed, not only in the intermingling of SATB voices, but in the setting of che faccia lo tuo santo e verace comadamento (that I may carry out your holy and true command).  The phrase is sung only once by the women before the final return of the illumine chant (which is repeated throughout by the men).  Maybe I chanced on weaving some of Clare’s courage with Francis’ persistence into Illumina le tenebre, all while trying to compose something wholly Franciscan?

 

---Mary Ellen Haupert, October 2012.

 

SKU: A0.1503844

Carl Sandburg's Thanksgiving poem Fire Dreams, set for SATB choir. The music follows the rhythms of the poem, as it meditates on pilgrims and gratitude, and their place in our modern consciousness. The poem was written to be read aloud on Thanksgiving Day. Piano accompaniment intended for rehearsal only (although it can accompany performance).

I remember here by the fire,
In the flickering reds and saffrons,
They came in a ramshackle tub,
Pilgrims in tall hats,
Pilgrims of iron jaws,
Drifting by weeks on beaten seas,
And the random chapters say
They were glad and sang to God.

And so
Since the iron-jawed men sat down
And said, Thanks, O God,
For life and soup and a little less
Than a handout to-day,
Since gray winds blew gray patterns of sleet on Plymouth Rock,
Since the iron-jawed [wo]men sang Thanks, O God,
You and I, O Child of the West,
Remember more than ever
November and the hunter's moon,
November and the yellow-spotted hills.

And so
In the name of the iron-jawed men
I will stand up and say yes till the finish is come and gone.
God of all broken hearts, empty hands, sleeping soldiers,
God of all star-flung beaches of night sky,
I and my love-child stand up together to-day and sing: Thanks, O God..

SKU: A0.1308012

Words by Emily Dickinson
Music by Richard deCosta

Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.

We slowly drove – He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility –

We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess – in the Ring –
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –
We passed the Setting Sun –

Or rather – He passed Us –
The Dews drew quivering and Chill –
For only Gossamer, my Gown –
My Tippet – only Tulle –

We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground –
The Roof was scarcely visible –
The Cornice – in the Ground –

Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses' Heads
Were toward Eternity –

-=-

In the reclusive chambers of Emily Dickinson's 19th-century Massachusetts home, the haunting poem, 'Because I Could Not Stop for Death,' was conceived. Living much of her life in isolation, Dickinson's thoughts often ventured into the shadowlands of existence. This poem, published posthumously in 1890, offers a chilling reflection of her contemplation. The Grim Reaper, a timeless symbol, is portrayed as a carriage driver, guiding the reader through a somber journey that mirrors the ephemeral nature of life. Passing scenes of childhood innocence, maturity's labor, and the twilight of existence, it culminates in the cold embrace of the grave. Her words, etched in a gothic darkness, resonate with the uncertainties and fears of her time, transcending to speak to the eternal human condition.