Come, Let Us Meet Here Together

Words by Wendell Berry
SATB (div), S solo
Published by Fresh Ayre Music
Commissioned by MMEA-MN, ACDA

Wendell Berry’s brief poem reads like a psalm of praise, depicting the whole of creation (“Light, leaf, foot, hand, and wing”) raising its collective voice in song. In contrast, the first line evokes a sense of surrounding threat, against which the singers gather for mutual support and protection. It is too easy to a list the fears that currently burden our days; I wanted this piece to acknowledge those fears while celebrating the impulse that brings us together to combat them.

Many of my choral pieces use Southern folk elements, and the flavor of Appalachian fiddle music is strong in this one. It begins with the call of a single encouraging voice, around which other voices begin to gather. As the fully assembled company reaches its emotive peak at the end of the text (“And all the earth shall sing”) there’s nothing left to do but dispense with language altogether and sing a barn-burning dance tune on vocables. The piece ends with a return to the opening call, sung by the full choir, re-affirming that we are all “members one of another.”

Perusal Score (click to view)