The Song I Seek

with a tear trembling in his eye.

It comes to me at times when I am dreaming,

and comforts me when I am filled with pain.

And it falls upon my spirit with a coolness like the rain.

And one day I shall come home

to find the music I’ve sought for so long.

I shall sing before my Father in Heav’n

the glorious song that He alone

has been singing to me

all of my life.

Amen.

Composer’s comments:

Our spiritual journeys are deeply personal, shaped and guided by our completely unique life experiences. From participation in Methodist and Baptist churches as a child, to the Catholic youth evangelism movement of the early 1970’s as a teenager, to a conflicted relationship with organized religion during my university career – my sense of spirituality seemed determined to meander. In fact, it was not in a religious setting at all, but in a college classroom studying the Transcendentalist poets, that I discovered a sense of direction that has continued to inspire and comfort me for decades. William Wordsworth’s “Intimations of Immortality” is as beloved and influential as anything I’ve ever read about spirituality – our lives blessed with so many solitary, mystical, even baffling, but completely transformative and unforgettable encounters. This notion that whatever you perceive to be your higher power, reaches out to show you glimpses of the eternal and supernal – that a sound, a fragrance, a shadowy memory, a scene in nature that transfixes you with an irresistible power, a place you’ve never seen that feels more like home than anywhere you’ve ever been – are all designed to trigger your deeply buried but omnipresent memories of the Paradise from which we all have come, and to which we shall all someday return. My personal intimations of immortality are never more vivid or comforting than in hours of grief. When my father passed away, I wanted to write a piece of music with lyrics that would speak to our divergent spiritual journeys, and celebrate our mutual love. I leaned into a musical vocabulary so present, so precious, and hopefully so universal that it would resonate widely and powerfully. Over the many years since I first composed “The Song I Seek”, it has been a favorite among conductors, choristers, audiences, and congregations alike. I believe that when we share the details of our spiritual journeys, we learn just how fundamentally similar they truly are. I find great beauty, comfort, inspiration, and joy in that feeling of connection that bridges all barriers, and I hope that this composition will touch your spirit deeply, as well.

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