I Should Be Glad

Choosing the text for a choral work is always a challenge; for this project, I had the pleasure of engaging in a spirited negotiation with the Lexington High School Chamber Singers, their director, Jason Iannuzzi, and several of the Chamber Singers. We finally settled on Teasdale’s “Compensation.” It is an interesting task to construct a three-minute piece based on eight short lines of poetry. Words and phrases will need to be sung more than once. But does the repetition emphasize the right words? And does it help or hinder the understanding of the text?

COMPENSATION

I Should be glad of loneliness
And hours that go on broken wings,
A thirsty body, a tired heart
And the unchanging ache of things,
If I could make a single song
As lovely and as full of light,
As hushed and brief as a falling star
On a winter night.

Sara Teasdale
from Flame and Shadows
©1920, The MacMillan Company