Oliver Introits (2019)
These choral miniatures, with texts by Mary Oliver, were written for use on the four Sundays of Advent, and so lend themselves to treatment as Introits. They contain an optional intoning based on relevant Scripture (omitted in the audio demo).
I. Hope: "Tell me about despair"
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
II. Peace: "I want to think again"
I want to think again of dangerous and noble things.
I want to be light and frolicsome.
I want to be improbable beautiful and afraid of nothing,
as though I had wings.
III. Joy: "You do not have to be good"
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.
IV. Love: "I believe in kindness"
I believe in kindness.
Also in mischief.
Also in singing, especially when singing is not necessarily prescribed.
Haugen Introits (2019)
This is a set of six choral miniatures, with tunes and texts by Marty Haugen, used as Introits throughout Lent at for Westmoreland UCC in Bethesda, MD.
I. Tree of Life
Gentle Jesus, mighty Spirit, Come inflame our hearts anew;
We may all your joy inherit If we bear the cross with you.
We remember Truth once spoken Love passed on through act and word,
Every person lost and broken Wears the body of our Lord.
II. My Soul in Stillness Waits
For you, my God, my soul in stillness waits, truly my hope is in you.
O Key of Knowledge guide us in our pilgrimage,
We ever seek, yet unfulfilled remain,
Open to us the pathway of your peace.
Advent Introits (2017)
click image for demo score
A set of 4 Introits to be used on the Sundays of Advent, which incorporate melodies from African American Spirituals.
1. Hope (We Shall Overcome)
2. Peace (Shall We Gather at the River)
3. Joy (This Little Light of Mine)
4. Love (Let Us Break Bread Together)
-Organ + SATB
-Organ, Strings, SATB
-Orchestra [1,1,0,0 - 2,2,2,2 - timp,perc,str (min.2.2.2.2.1)] + SATB
Note:
[still working on scores / demo recordings]
Please email Alec for alternate orchestrations, download of clean file, and permission for use.