Always, the Light Falls Softly (2018)

Perusal Score

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Text

The Snow is Deep on the Ground
by Kenneth Patchen

The snow is deep on the ground.
Always the light falls
Softly down on the hair of my belovèd.

This is a good world.
The war has failed.
God shall not forget us.
Who made the snow waits where love is.

Only a few go mad.
The sky moves in its whiteness
Like the withered hand of an old king.
God shall not forget us.
Who made the sky knows of our love.

The snow is beautiful on the ground.
And always the lights of heaven glow
Softly down on the hair of my belovèd.

General Information

Text: The Snow is Deep on the Ground by Kenneth Patchen (1943)
Commissioner
: Harvard-Westlake School Chamber Singers
Written: May – June, 2018
Duration: ca. 5’
Instrumentation: SATB choir + perc + pf

Performance History

December 1, 2018: Harvard-Westlake Chamber Singers conducted by Zanaida Robles, Benjamin Beckman and Peter Sykes (percussion), Sara Shakliyan (piano) at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Los Angeles, CA (World Premiere)