A Litany of Dreams (2019)
SATB choir, piano
c. 7 minutes
text by Walt Whitman, members of the May Festival Youth Chorus, Joel 3:1, translated by Yvon Shore
Commissioned by the Creative Commissions Project and the May Festival Youth Chorus through generous funding of the Harmony Fund
Premiered by May Festival Youth Chorus, Matthew Swanson, director
College-Conservatory of Music, Cincinnati, OH, 23 February 2020
c. 7 minutes
text by Walt Whitman, members of the May Festival Youth Chorus, Joel 3:1, translated by Yvon Shore
Commissioned by the Creative Commissions Project and the May Festival Youth Chorus through generous funding of the Harmony Fund
Premiered by May Festival Youth Chorus, Matthew Swanson, director
College-Conservatory of Music, Cincinnati, OH, 23 February 2020
A Litany of Dreams (2019) poses the same question that Walt Whitman asked in the sixth section of “Song of Myself” (1892): “What has become of the young and old men? And what has become of the women and children?” In A Litany of Dreams, this question is answered not by Whitman, but by an excerpt from Joel 3:1, presented first in Hebrew, then in English. The answer, Joel proposes, lies in the visions and dreams that span generations. The chorus foreshadows this answer in the central section of the work: they sing a series of dreams written by members of the May Festival Youth Chorus specifically for this composition. These dreams range from the personal (dreams of success and reunions with parents) to the global (dreams for peace and a healthy earth).
The melodic setting of Joel 3:1 is based upon a chant from the Ashkenazi tradition. The chorus first hums this chant in minor during the opening measures of the work. When the chant returns at the end, the piano transforms it into a hopeful Mixolydian. A soloist picks up the melody, and finally the full chorus enters in a majestic statement. The piano postlude that follows whispers one final fragment of the chant, ending the work with hope for the fulfillment of dreams.
A Litany of Dreams was commissioned by the Creative Commissions Project for performance by the May Festival Youth Chorus, directed by Matthew Swanson, with generous funding from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Harmony Fund. Special thanks goes to Yvon Shore of the May Festival Chorus and Hebrew Union College for translating and making recordings of the Hebrew text and Ashkenazi chant, and for providing the Hebrew pronunciation guide included in the front matter of the score.
Text
What do you think has become of the young and old men?
And what do you think has become of the women and children?
I dream:
I dream of being successful.
I dream of meeting my biological father.
I dream that music will be part of my life forever.
I dream:
I dream of a peaceful world.
I dream of clear blue skies above a green earth.
I dream of others seeing their own dreams fulfilled.
I dream.
What do you think has become of the young and old men?
And the women and children?
Zikneikhem khalomot yakhalomun
Bakhureikhem, khezyonot yiru.
Your old people shall dream dreams,
Your young people shall see visions.
The melodic setting of Joel 3:1 is based upon a chant from the Ashkenazi tradition. The chorus first hums this chant in minor during the opening measures of the work. When the chant returns at the end, the piano transforms it into a hopeful Mixolydian. A soloist picks up the melody, and finally the full chorus enters in a majestic statement. The piano postlude that follows whispers one final fragment of the chant, ending the work with hope for the fulfillment of dreams.
A Litany of Dreams was commissioned by the Creative Commissions Project for performance by the May Festival Youth Chorus, directed by Matthew Swanson, with generous funding from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Harmony Fund. Special thanks goes to Yvon Shore of the May Festival Chorus and Hebrew Union College for translating and making recordings of the Hebrew text and Ashkenazi chant, and for providing the Hebrew pronunciation guide included in the front matter of the score.
Text
What do you think has become of the young and old men?
And what do you think has become of the women and children?
I dream:
I dream of being successful.
I dream of meeting my biological father.
I dream that music will be part of my life forever.
I dream:
I dream of a peaceful world.
I dream of clear blue skies above a green earth.
I dream of others seeing their own dreams fulfilled.
I dream.
What do you think has become of the young and old men?
And the women and children?
Zikneikhem khalomot yakhalomun
Bakhureikhem, khezyonot yiru.
Your old people shall dream dreams,
Your young people shall see visions.