BLESSING
 

The idea of this work is centered on humility and strength.  The opening stanzas imply a yearning for human connection and understanding.  Through the use of pedal tones, the evocation of struggling with loneliness is personified through the single statement of the melody.  As the emotional intensity heightens, the melody splits into an echo that amplifies the yearning for connection and to be heard.  Learning that our path and destiny are beyond our physical control ("And though I come not with sight") allows us to completely release the tight grip we have on our lives and fully appreciate the journey we are all on.  May we all learn to be thankful for the present and appreciate where we have all come from to reach where we presently stand. 

 

 

Dear Lord,
Give me a few friends
who will love me for what I am,
and keep ever burning
before my vagrant steps
the kindly light of hope...
And though I come not within sight
of the castle of my dreams,
teach me to be thankful for life,
and for time's olden memories...
And may the evening's twilight
find me gentle still.

 

 

 

Premiered: June 24, 2017 in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City by Concert Chorale (Oklahoma State University)
 

Status: Published by Alliance Music, Inc.

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