The Lesson

SATB choir, unaccompanied
Part-song

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As a composer who has been blessed with many recent commissions, it has come with its own set of challenges. Originally, I was unable to accept this commission because I knew that I did not have the time to locate the text. However, Rick graciously selected a poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar, a poet who I adore. "The Lesson" was one of those texts that immediately sang to me. The thoughts I jotted down during my first read were the things that stuck with me when I returned to write the song. As an educator, I feel that a lesson is about ensuring that repetition is present to aid in remembering. This is why there are many similarities between the voices. Musically, the goal is that the audience will find some familiarity and potentially learn the song even after one listen. The joy of writing this song was that it practically sang itself which made the composing process easier.

My cot was down by a cypress grove,
And I sat by my window the whole night long,
And heard well up from the deep dark wood
A mocking–bird’s passionate song.

And I thought of myself so sad and lone,
And my life’s cold winter that knew no spring;
Of my mind so weary and sick and wild,
Of my heart too sad to sing.

But e’en as I listened the mock–bird’s song,
A thought stole into my saddened heart,
And I said, “I can cheer some other soul
By a carol’s simple art.”

For oft from the darkness of hearts and lives
Come songs that brim with joy and light,
As out of the gloom of the cypress grove
The mocking–bird sings at night.

So I sang a lay for a brother’s ear
In a strain to soothe his bleeding heart,
And he smiled at the sound of my voice and lyre,
Though mine was a feeble art.

But at his smile I smiled in turn,
And into my soul there came a ray:
In trying to soothe another’s woes
Mine own had passed away.

- Paul Laurence Dunbar (from “Lyrics of Lowly Life”)