THE 2022-2023 ALBERTA YOUTH CHOIR
with special guest The Augustana Choir
Saturday, Mar 4 and Sunday, Mar 5
Saturday, Mar 4 and Sunday, Mar 5
Texts & Translations
THE ARROW AND THE SONG
I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.
I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of song?
Long, long afterward, in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroke;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.
I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of song?
Long, long afterward, in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroke;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.
IN THE MIDDLE
In the middle
of a life that's as complicated as everyone else's,
struggling for balance, juggling time.
The mantle clock that was my grandfather's
has stopped at 9:20;
we haven't had time to get it repaired.
The brass pendulum is still,
the chimes don't ring.
One day I look out the window,
green summer, the next, the leaves have already fallen,
and a grey sky lowers the horizon.
Our children almost grown,
our parents gone, it happened so fast.
Each day, we must learn
again how to love, between morning's quick coffee
and evening's slow return.
Steam from a pot of soup rises,
mixing with the yeasty smell of baking bread.
Our bodies twine,
and the big black dog pushes his great head between;
his tail, a metronome, 3/4 time.
We'll never get there,
Time is always ahead of us,
running down the beach,
Urging us on faster, faster,
but sometimes we take off our watches,
sometimes we lie in the hammock,
caught between the mesh
of rope and the net of stars,
suspended, tangled up
in love,
running out of time.
Poem by Barbara Crooker
of a life that's as complicated as everyone else's,
struggling for balance, juggling time.
The mantle clock that was my grandfather's
has stopped at 9:20;
we haven't had time to get it repaired.
The brass pendulum is still,
the chimes don't ring.
One day I look out the window,
green summer, the next, the leaves have already fallen,
and a grey sky lowers the horizon.
Our children almost grown,
our parents gone, it happened so fast.
Each day, we must learn
again how to love, between morning's quick coffee
and evening's slow return.
Steam from a pot of soup rises,
mixing with the yeasty smell of baking bread.
Our bodies twine,
and the big black dog pushes his great head between;
his tail, a metronome, 3/4 time.
We'll never get there,
Time is always ahead of us,
running down the beach,
Urging us on faster, faster,
but sometimes we take off our watches,
sometimes we lie in the hammock,
caught between the mesh
of rope and the net of stars,
suspended, tangled up
in love,
running out of time.
Poem by Barbara Crooker
I HAD NO TIME
I had no time to hate, because
The grave would hinder me,
And life was not so ample I
Could finish enmity.
Nor had I time to love; but since
Some industry must be,
The little toil of love, I thought,
Was large enough for me.
Poem by Emily Dickinson
The grave would hinder me,
And life was not so ample I
Could finish enmity.
Nor had I time to love; but since
Some industry must be,
The little toil of love, I thought,
Was large enough for me.
Poem by Emily Dickinson
O SAPIENTIA (paraphrased translation from Latin)
O Holy Wisdom,
how I long for you!
You are the Word of Life
whispered by the Divine Presence.
With fierce tenderness
you reach to touch the ends of the galaxy
and the edges of the universe,
inviting all creation to flourish.
Come, Holy Wisdom,
show us wisdom’s ways.
O Holy Wisdom,
how I long for you!
You are the Word of Life
whispered by the Divine Presence.
With fierce tenderness
you reach to touch the ends of the galaxy
and the edges of the universe,
inviting all creation to flourish.
Come, Holy Wisdom,
show us wisdom’s ways.
SICUT CERVUS (translated from Latin)
As the deer longs for running water,
so longs my soul for you, O God.
As the deer longs for running water,
so longs my soul for you, O God.
HOLDING THE LIGHT
Gather up whatever is
glittering in the gutter,
whatever has tumbled
in the waves or fallen
in flames out of the sky,
for it’s not only our
hearts that are broken,
but the heart
of the world as well.
Stitch it back together.
Make a place where
the day speaks to the night
and the earth speaks to the sky.
Whether we created God
or God created us
it all comes down to this:
In our imperfect world
we are meant to repair
and stitch together
what beauty there is, stitch it
with compassion and wire.
See how everything
we have made gathers
the light inside itself
and overflows? A blessing.
Poem by Stuart Kestenbaum
Gather up whatever is
glittering in the gutter,
whatever has tumbled
in the waves or fallen
in flames out of the sky,
for it’s not only our
hearts that are broken,
but the heart
of the world as well.
Stitch it back together.
Make a place where
the day speaks to the night
and the earth speaks to the sky.
Whether we created God
or God created us
it all comes down to this:
In our imperfect world
we are meant to repair
and stitch together
what beauty there is, stitch it
with compassion and wire.
See how everything
we have made gathers
the light inside itself
and overflows? A blessing.
Poem by Stuart Kestenbaum
SING MY CHILD
Sing for the promise in each new morning.
Sing for the hope in a new day dawning.
All around is beauty bright!
Wake in the morning and sing, my child.
Dance in the joy of the day unfolding.
Dance as you work and dance as you’re learning.
All around is beauty bright!
Take in the day and dance, my child, dance.
But when troubles come
and worry is all that can be found,
Gather your strength and hear your voice.
Sing, my child.
Laugh in the cool and the fresh of the ev’ning.
Laugh in your triumph, laugh in succeeding.
All around is beauty bright!
Rest in the ev’ning and laugh, my child.
Peace in the stillness and dark of the night.
Peace in the dreams of your silent delights.
All around is beauty bright!
Sleep in the night and peace, my child.
But when troubles come
and worry is all that can be found,
Gather your strength and hear your voice.
Sing, my child. Dance my child.
Laugh my child. Peace my child.
Poem by Sarah Quartel
Sing for the promise in each new morning.
Sing for the hope in a new day dawning.
All around is beauty bright!
Wake in the morning and sing, my child.
Dance in the joy of the day unfolding.
Dance as you work and dance as you’re learning.
All around is beauty bright!
Take in the day and dance, my child, dance.
But when troubles come
and worry is all that can be found,
Gather your strength and hear your voice.
Sing, my child.
Laugh in the cool and the fresh of the ev’ning.
Laugh in your triumph, laugh in succeeding.
All around is beauty bright!
Rest in the ev’ning and laugh, my child.
Peace in the stillness and dark of the night.
Peace in the dreams of your silent delights.
All around is beauty bright!
Sleep in the night and peace, my child.
But when troubles come
and worry is all that can be found,
Gather your strength and hear your voice.
Sing, my child. Dance my child.
Laugh my child. Peace my child.
Poem by Sarah Quartel
LAO RAHAL SOTI (translation)
If my voice departs, your voices will not…
I see tomorrow and my heart is with you…
If the singer goes (dies), the songs will remain…
bringing together the broken and suffering heart…
Poem by Smiah Choukeir
If my voice departs, your voices will not…
I see tomorrow and my heart is with you…
If the singer goes (dies), the songs will remain…
bringing together the broken and suffering heart…
Poem by Smiah Choukeir
MEET ME HERE
Meet me here
Won’t you meet me here
Where the old fence ends and the horizon begins
There’s a balm in the silence
Like an understanding air
Where the old fence ends and the horizon begins
We’ve been walking through the darkness
On this long, hard climb
Carried ancestral sorrow
For too long a time
Will you lay down your burden
Lay it down, come with me
It will never be forgotten
Held in love, so tenderly
Meet me here
Won’t you meet me here
Where the old fence ends and the horizon begins
There’s a joy in the singing
Like an understanding air
Where the old fence ends and the horizon begins.
Then we’ll come to the mountain
We’ll go bounding to see
That great circle of dancing
And we’ll dance endlessly
And we’ll dance with all the children
Who’ve been lost along the way
We will welcome each other
Coming home, this glorious day
We are home in the mountain
And we’ll gently understand
That we’ve been friends forever
That we’ve never been alone
We’ll sing on through any darkness
And our Song will be our sight
We can learn to offer praise again
Coming home to the light…
Meet me here
Won’t you meet me here
Where the old fence ends and the horizon begins
There’s a balm in the silence
Like an understanding air
Where the old fence ends and the horizon begins
We’ve been walking through the darkness
On this long, hard climb
Carried ancestral sorrow
For too long a time
Will you lay down your burden
Lay it down, come with me
It will never be forgotten
Held in love, so tenderly
Meet me here
Won’t you meet me here
Where the old fence ends and the horizon begins
There’s a joy in the singing
Like an understanding air
Where the old fence ends and the horizon begins.
Then we’ll come to the mountain
We’ll go bounding to see
That great circle of dancing
And we’ll dance endlessly
And we’ll dance with all the children
Who’ve been lost along the way
We will welcome each other
Coming home, this glorious day
We are home in the mountain
And we’ll gently understand
That we’ve been friends forever
That we’ve never been alone
We’ll sing on through any darkness
And our Song will be our sight
We can learn to offer praise again
Coming home to the light…
I'LL BE ON MY WAY
When I am gone, don't you cry for me,
don't you pity my sorry soul.
What pain there might have been
will now be past and my spirit will be whole.
I'll be on my way, I'll be on my way
I'll have left my feet of clay upon the ground
I will be glory bound
I'll be on my way.
When I am gone, please forgive the wrongs
that I might have done to you;
There'll be no room for regrets up there,
high above, way beyond the blue.
I'll be on my way, I'll be on my way
I'll have laid my frown and all my burdens down,
I'll be puttin’ on my crown,
I'll be on my way.
When I am gone, don't you look for me
in the places I have been;
I'll be alive, but somewhere else,
I'll be on my way again!
I'll be on my way! I'll be on my way!
I'll lift my wings and soar into the air,
there'll be glory everywhere,
I'll be on my way.
I'll be on my way! I'll be on my way!
I'll have laid my frown and all my
burdens down,
I'll be puttin’ on my crown,
I'll be on my way.
I'll have left my feet of clay upon the ground,
I will be glory bound,
I'll be on my way!
When I am gone, don't you cry for me,
don't you pity my sorry soul.
What pain there might have been
will now be past and my spirit will be whole.
I'll be on my way, I'll be on my way
I'll have left my feet of clay upon the ground
I will be glory bound
I'll be on my way.
When I am gone, please forgive the wrongs
that I might have done to you;
There'll be no room for regrets up there,
high above, way beyond the blue.
I'll be on my way, I'll be on my way
I'll have laid my frown and all my burdens down,
I'll be puttin’ on my crown,
I'll be on my way.
When I am gone, don't you look for me
in the places I have been;
I'll be alive, but somewhere else,
I'll be on my way again!
I'll be on my way! I'll be on my way!
I'll lift my wings and soar into the air,
there'll be glory everywhere,
I'll be on my way.
I'll be on my way! I'll be on my way!
I'll have laid my frown and all my
burdens down,
I'll be puttin’ on my crown,
I'll be on my way.
I'll have left my feet of clay upon the ground,
I will be glory bound,
I'll be on my way!