May We Be Light – SATB w/ divisi Digital Download

From the Composer 

I am always drawn to the way music can illuminate text.  In this work, the poetry centers on discovering one’s inner light during seasons of uncertainty and shadow. I wanted the harmonic language itself to tell that story.  The piece opens with darker choral timbre. The lower voices introduce a gently pulsing motif—steady but restrained—suggesting the quiet persistence of hope even when obscured.  The music blooms fully into “May we be starlight shining in the darkness”.  The tonal shift is a moment of radiance and hope.  The melodic lines soar into longer phrases, inviting singers to release into a brighter, more open resonance. Rhythmic motion becomes more buoyant, and the accompaniment moves with gentle forward momentum, evoking the shimmer of starlight.

From the Lyricist 

The Romans had three words for light, differentiating between natural and man-made light.  This poem reminds us that illumination, the inner light, glows as brightly as the others.  In dark times we must find our own inner light, one that cannot be dimmed by what is going on around us.  Experiencing this poem in a choral setting reminds us also of the power of music to bring us together in our shared humanity.