The Infinite Path
Chapter 1:
The Waiting Sky
Oliver Tarney
The trees are bare, green fields where puddles hold the waiting sky.
The cows move slowly, their breathing clouds the air as they walk by.
What if the clouds smother the shining star? We'll know it's there.
Warm light will fill the puddles, and the cows will stop and stare.
- Lucia Quinault (b. 1969)
Three Sacred Hymns for mixed choir (1984)
Alfred Schnittke
I.
Maiden Mother of God, rejoice.
Blessed Mary, the Lord is with thee;
Blessed art thou among women,
And blessed is the fruit of they womb,
For thou has borne the savior of our souls.
Amen.
II.
Lord Jesus Christ,
Son of God,
Have mercy on me, a sinner.
III.
Our Father,
Who is in the heavens
Hallowed be Thy Name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread,
And forgive us our debts,
Just as we also forgive our debtors;
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from the Evil One.
For Thine is the kingdom
And the power
And the glory
Forever.
Amen.
As I Walk the Silent Earth
Thomas LaVoy
In each person there exists a void to be filled with thoughts and words meant only to shield us in the darkness and to guard us from harm.
We fill that sullen emptiness with thoughts of each soul who touched our hearts, who stood beside us through the dim and in the light of day.
For we are all children in our Wonderlands. For we are all each other's Hatters and our Hares.
As I walk the silent earth I sing the songs that you taught me; those words so full of glory that in reflection I can hardly speak. And I know that in being company with you I have found what I seek.
For we are all dreamers in the depths of sleep. For we are all each other's Keepers and our Kin.
If you would but remember me, how far would I go? I would tear a hole in the sky so I could pull out the heart of the moon for thee. I will live out the life I must live with your song.
"Life, what is it but a dream?"
- Thomas LaVoy, Lewis Carrol
Chapter 2:
Geantraí
Michael McGlynn
We will throw her up easily
We will throw her up and up, hopefully she will not explode
She will dance.
She will dance with pleasure
She will dance and dance myself and herself together.
- Traditional Irish Tune
A Boy And A Girl
Eric Whitacre
Stretched out on the grass,
a boy and a girl.
Savoring their oranges,
giving their kisses like waves exchanging foam.
Stretched out on the beach,
a boy and a girl.
Savoring their limes,
giving their kisses like clouds exchanging foam.
Stretched out underground,
a boy and a girl.
Saying nothing, never kissing,
giving silence for silence.
- Octavio Paz
Trilå
Arr. Bengt Ollén
On the rocks on the Swedish west coast the fish wives were waiting for their men. During the centuries the coastal communities had been living on fisheries, and when the men went out with their boats, no one knew when, or if, they would come back. It was therefore with concern the wives waited on the rocks.
It is said that the song Trilå was sung by the wives when the men finall could be seen far away. Home to their beloved, home with supply. The initial fifths in the male voices gives a picture of a gentle, misty, infinite ocean where the only sound is the foghorns.
Trilo, Trilo
Here he is
Near land
Trilo
- Swedish folk song
Laughing Song
Torbjørn Dyrud
When the green woods laugh with the voice of joy,
And the dimpling stream runs laughing by;
When the air does laugh with our merry wit,
And the green hill laughs with the noise of it;
When the meadows laugh with lively green,
And the grasshopper laughs in the merry scene;
When Mary and Susan and Emily
With their sweet round mouths sing 'Ha ha he!'
When the painted birds laugh in the shade,
Where our table with cherries and nuts is spread:
Come live, and be merry, and join with me,
To sing the sweet chorus of 'Ha ha he!'
- William Blake
Chapter 3:
where you go
David Lang
where you go
where you stay
where you live
where you die
don't make me leave you
don't make me turn away from you
don't make me go
where you go I will go
where you stay I will stay
where you live I will live
where you die I will die
don't make me leave you
I will never leave you
don't make me turn away from you
I will never turn away from you
don't make me go
I will never go
- after the book of ruth
Chapter 4:
O Great Beyond
Thomas LaVoy
I. In Your Eyes - Verse 31
My heart, the bird of the wilderness, has found its sky in your eyes.
They are the cradle of the morning, they are the kingdom of the stars.
My songs are lost in their depths.
Let me but soar in that sky, in its lonely immensity.
Let me but cleave its clouds and spread wings in its sunshine.
II. In a Strange Land - Verse 5
I am restless, I am athirst for far-away things.
My soul goes out in a longing to touch the skirt of the dim distance.
O Great Beyond, O the keen call of thy flute!
I forget, I ever forget, that I have no wings to fly, and I am bound in this spot evermore.
I am eager and wakeful, I am a stranger in a strange land.
Thy breath comes to me whispering an impossible hope.
Thy tongue is known to my heart as its very own.
O Far-to-seek, O the keen call of thy flute!
I forget, I ever forget, that I know not the way, that I have not the winged horse.
I am listless, I am a wanderer in my heart.
In the sunny haze of the languid hours, what vast vision of thine takes shape in the blue of the sky!
O Farthest End, O the keen call of they flute!
I forget, I ever forget, that the gates are shut everywhere in the house where I dwell alone!
III. In Silence - Verse 61
Peace, my heart, let the time for the parting be sweet.
Let it not be a death but completeness.
Let love melt into memory and pain into songs.
Let the last touch of your hands be gentle like the flower of the night.
Stand still, O Beautiful End, for a moment, and say your last words in silence.
I bow to you and hold up my lamp to light you on your way.
- Rabindranath Tagore from "The Gardener", 1913