Sea-Grass (2019)
vocal quartet or SATB choir
c. 6 minutes
text by Sara Teasdale
Premiered by Cleveland Chamber Choir, Gregory Ristow, Acting Artist Director
Drinko Hall, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH, 2 April 2023
c. 6 minutes
text by Sara Teasdale
Premiered by Cleveland Chamber Choir, Gregory Ristow, Acting Artist Director
Drinko Hall, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH, 2 April 2023
Sara Teasdale’s “I Would Live in Your Love” from Love Songs (1917) is a meditation on the themes of love and dedication to another person. She depicts this love—which can be interpreted as romantic or spiritual in nature—as sea-grass that moves in response to the moving of the ocean. Sea-Grass (2019) sets Teasdale’s text strophically, with slight variations amongst the verses. Each verse is connected by undulating vocalises that grow more expansive as the work progresses, mimicking the flowing of sea-grass.
I Would Live in Your Love
I would live in your love as the sea-grasses live in the sea,
Borne up by each wave as it passes, drawn down by each wave that recedes;
I would empty my soul of the dreams that have gathered in me,
I would beat with your heart as it beats, I would follow your soul as it leads.
I Would Live in Your Love
I would live in your love as the sea-grasses live in the sea,
Borne up by each wave as it passes, drawn down by each wave that recedes;
I would empty my soul of the dreams that have gathered in me,
I would beat with your heart as it beats, I would follow your soul as it leads.