Homeland (2016)

for SATB or SSAA choir

SSAA arrangement commissioned by the Concord Singers of Summit, NJ

“Homeland” is, first and foremost, a love letter. It can be happy or sad; it can unite a group of loved ones or serve as a heartfelt goodbye to a familiar place. The piece is dedicated to the Madrigal Choir of Grace Episcopal Church, my choir and circle of close friends for ten years. I wrote it shortly before graduating from the choral program in the hopes that it would bring me some closure and allow me to give something back to the group. Since its premiere in 2016, its reach has spread across the United States and Europe.

Original text

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Dear lover, dear friend, see how gentle the night / that warms us from the cold. / When we met, I could swear I had known you before / in a lifetime gentler still.

This is our homeland, our haven in the woods — / familiar shadows, a sky we call our own. / And surely someday, we all will meet again. / In music, we’ll never be alone.

If the night falls too fast, I will seek out the sun / and paint it in the sky. / If the monsters return, I will drive them away / to keep you safe with me.

I will love you until the time I leave you. / But even though the distance grows, / we will never be apart.

This is our homeland, our haven in the woods — / familiar shadows, a sky we call our own. / And surely someday, we all will meet again. / When we’re centuries old and our voices are gone, / we will all come home.