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Two Songs for Tomorrow [1]

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Date: 2024-11-04  

I sang in a choir concert on Saturday afternoon.

I’m the tenor section leader for the chorus of the Pioneer Valley Symphony, a venerable community orchestra here in Western Massachusetts. Now in its 86th season, the PVSO conducts educational programs, sponsors a youth orchestra that trains the next generation of classical musicians, and performs the familiar (Carmina Burana is our season-ender in April), the should be familiar (Margaret Bonds’ magnificent Credo), and brand new works commissioned from rising stars across the world (Andres Martin’s stunning Vox: Concerto for Violincello). Our director, Maestro Tianhui Ng, has been working with the Lviv Philharmonic to record the works of Ukrainian master Thomas de Hartmann, and our chorus director, Dr. Allegra Martin, has a knack for programming works of stunning beauty from the Renaissance to the 21st century.

I’ve been a member for nearly a decade now, and have probably learned more about classical choral music in that time than in the previous forty years. I’ve also had a wonderful time — is there anything more satisfying than a job well done, and an audience entertained and educated? — and foresee many more years of learning, singing, and bringing beauty into the world.

The reason I bring all this up is because our Saturday concert ended with two very special pieces of music. This isn’t to say the rest of the program wasn’t wonderful — any concert that includes Heinrich Schuetz, Alice Parker, and a jolly German drinking song about apple trees and blooming roses is wonderful by definition — but these two stood out.

The penultimate piece, “My Heart Be Brave,” is a setting by contemporary composer Marques Garrett of a sonnet by the the great civil rights activist James Weldon Johnson. Best known as the lyricist for “Life Every Voice and Sing,” Johnson wrote a great many other poems, including this gorgeous, heartfelt song of encouragement and hope. This is a performance Allegra led during the pandemic, and if you aren’t in tears by the end, you’re a lot tougher than I will ever be:

Our last piece, “Light of a Clear Blue Morning,” by the great songwriter, singer, philanthropist, and living saint Dolly Rebecca Parton, is not only a gorgeous piece of music, but it’s one of the happiest, most optimistic songs I’ve ever heard:

Let our hearts be brave as we sally forth to battle in the best way we can, and remember that the morning always comes. Always.

Peace and courage,

Ellid

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