The Fredösphere

Midnight hath its Iron Tongue, and its latest post very kindly promotes the upcoming concerts of the San Francisco Choral Artists which includes the premiere of a piece by li'l ol' me.  Sadly, naught but deafening silence emanates from the Galvanized Uvula of Noon, the Tin-Plated Palate of Tea Time, or the Metallic Molars of Morning, but I concede they have a legitimate excuse:  they don't exist.

My piece is an a cappella choral setting of The Evidence by 17th century Anglican mystic Thomas Traherne.  Part of his appeal is in the story of his poetry, how it was forgotten, then rediscovered by chance in the late 19th century.  His great insight is a variation on what W. H. Auden identified as the Vision of Dame Kind:  Traherne urges us to live in a state of constant wonder at the beauty and richness of creation, and calls each individual to appropriate all good things.  His message so strongly asserts that all creation was made for "my" happiness, it borders on solipsism.

Back in November I hinted I was writing the piece, but I didn't want to say much for fear of jinxing it or looking foolish.  SFCA was choosing some of this concert's repertoire by means of a competition.  I have entered composing competitions a few times before, and the experience usually turns into a species of Howling Into the Void:  you mail the score, you wait, and finally you find out someone else won.  Did I come close?  Did I loose because of a mere stylistic or programming decision?  Was my music simply too hard to learn?  Did the selectors choose an inferior piece?  Or do I suck?  You rarely find out.  In this case, the my text fit the concert theme, and most significantly, they were choosing several winners.  Thanks to Magen Solomon, SFCA director, for giving me a shot.