Praise Wet Snow Falling Early
by Elizabeth Alexander
4-Part - Sheet Music

Mixed Chorus and Piano (SATB choir and piano) - Moderate

SKU: SF.SEA-015-00

Composed by Elizabeth Alexander. Collegiate Repertoire, Community Chorus, Concert Music. Darkness & Light, Choral. Octavo. With Text language: English. Duration 7 minutes. Published by Seafarer Press (SF.SEA-015-00).

Poem by Denise Levertov, "Praise Wet Snow Falling Early".

Opening with a tender appreciation of one morning's light, this setting of Denise Levertov's "Gloria" gradually grows into a broader meditation on darkness, transcendence and hope. With the understated sensibility of art song and an expressive piano accompaniment, this song offers a deeply moving experience for both performers and audience. Recipient of Highest Honors in the "Waging Peace Through Singing" Project.

Commissioned by Dryden Community Choir; Rachel Dickinson, artistic director (Dryden, NY) Highest Honors: Waging Peace for Singing Project Featured in: Choral Director Magazine article, "Only the Best" (Drew Collins, 2004)

Text: Praise wet snow falling early. Praise the shadow my neighbor's chimney casts on the tile roof even this gray October day that should, they say, have been golden. Praise the invisible sun burning beyond the white cold sky, giving us light and the chimney's shadow. Praise god or the gods, the unknown, that which imagined us, which stays our hand, our murderous hand, and gives us still, in the shadow of death, our daily life, and the dream still of goodwill, of peace on earth. Praise flow and change, night and the pulse of day. Copyright by New Directions Publishing Corporation. Reprinted by permission.