LYRICS: VOCAL
through the void, an angel's cry
Hilary Spiers, 2009
Sing to me, sing to me, sing Through the noise and the din Insinuate Perpetuate
The truths of old.
Sing to me, sing to me, soft Through the hurry, and the haste Illuminate Communicate
The bliss foretold.
Through this broken world, a sigh Through the void, an angel`s cry For we sinners,
Christ within us,
The Light is come.
Sing to me, sing to me, clear Through the anger, through the fear Commemorate
And celebrate
His blessed love.
Sing to me, sing to me, loud Through the rushing, pushing crowd Regenerate
Accentuate
That perfect love.
Stop the shouts!, stop the cries! Search the Heavens Search the skies.
Hush! So listen. Hush! Can you hear? Hush! Listen. Soft and clear.
(silence)
Through this broken world, a sigh Through the void, an angel`s cry For we sinners,
Christ within us,
The Light is come.
Christ is with us, Christ is here! The Truth, His holy Word, is near The Peace of God
Is all around
The peace of God
The only sound,
The Peace, the Peace.
The Peace that brings
Our ease, our calm.
His blessed Peace.
Sing to me, sing to me, sing Through the anger, through the fear Sing to me, sing to me, sing
Of His blessed Peace.
MOMENTS
Moments libretto: John Barber
1.Dedham Vale
Smooth curl of surging water; pollarded willows, giant pin- cushions clutch the sodden banks; the spring sun breathes down at us:
we sit on the bruised, fibrous trunk of a storm-broken elm.
2. Varennes-sous-Dun
The statue stands guard over the cattle, their pouchy snouts chafing at sedge and grass. We climb slowly, hand loose in hand, intent on gaining the summit, a shrub-tonsured hill where vigilant rabbits attend our steps.
3. The Royal Festival Hall
Texture of expansive strings thickens, thickens to a crescendo, eclipsed by climactic brass, ravishing the emotions. We sit. Later, the river’s breeze lifts a tuft of your hair.
4. Newlands Beck
On velvet moss, beside the swashing stream, we sprawl languidly, limbs loose from the climb; and thumb-moist loam from green-tinged grey-blue slate, thin remnants of splinter’d spoil: malachite, pocketed on our jubilant descent.
5. Charlieu
We enter the monastery in the quiet of the evening. The solitary lamp casts shadows into the cloister. We sit and look at the flagstones, worn smooth by sandalled feet.
COUNTING THE BEATS
These poems are set to music by kind permission of Robert Graves.
1. Counting The Beats
You, love, and I (He whispers), you and I, And if no more than only you and I, What care you or I?
Counting the beats, Counting the slow heart beats, The bleeding to death of time in slow heart beats, Wakeful they lie.
Cloudless day. Night and a cloudless day; Yet the huge storm will burst upon their heads one day From a bitter sky.
Where shall we be (She whispers) where shall we be, When death strikes home, O where shall we be, Who were you and I?
Not there but here (He whispers) only here, As we are here together now and here. Always you and I.
Counting the beats, Counting the slow heart beats. The bleeding to death of time in slow heart beats, Wakeful they lie.
2. Reproach
Your grieving moonlight face looks down Through the forest of my fears, Crowned with a spiny bramble crown, Bedewed with evening tears.
Why do you say ‘untrue, unkind’, Reproachful eyes that vex my sleep? Straining in memory, I can find No cause why you should weep.
Untrue? But when, what broken oath? Unkind? I know not even your name. Unkind, untrue, you brand me both, Scalding my heart with shame.
The black trees shudder, dropping snow. The stars tumble and spin. Speak, speak or how may a child know His ancestral sin?
3. She Tells Her Love While Half Asleep
She tells her love while half asleep In the dark hours With half words whispered low: As Earth stirs in her winter sleep And puts out grass and flowers, Despite the snow, Despite the falling snow.
4. Song: the Far Side of Your Moon
The far side of your moon is black, And glorious grows the vine; Ask anything of me you lack, But only what is mine.
Yours is the great wheel of the sun, And yours the unclouded sky; Then take my stars, take every one, But wear them openly.
Walking in splendour through the plain, For all the world to see, Since none alive shall view again The match of you and me.
TO ONE
Christina Rees
1. Empty Night
Where are you? Nearly time to draw the curtains, No bird evensong tonight. The old yew tree waves heavy, dark arms at me. You are alone, alone it sighs. I draw the curtains, An owl shrieks. I have forgotten my name.
2. To Entice You
I know a good world, Border’d by four posters and lace. If I were to invite you in I know you’d be delighted. We could sip champagne, Elbow-deep in scented pillows.
And the heavy white cotton sheets that have known three generations of love, Would lie in folds around our bodies, Like waves lapping at an island newly born.
3. The Day We Met
I think we met today. A silent blade piercing flesh, Wrecking thought, and infusing my body with joy. “Have you two been introduced …?” And there we stood, bared to the soul, An ancient recognition whose dawn began before our time. We have come to where we should. The tangled maze has led to good.
4. I Learn My Name
Your love has given me a shape, given me a name: Wonderful, lovely to be loved, Fire, Mermaid, Peace. You are Beautiful, Wild Wave, Lightening Storm, Gentleness, Wisdom. It is as you stroke the curves of my body that I learn my shape. It is as you speak to me that I learn my name.
5. Christening
I was christened by the heat of the fire, By the hard hearth-stones I knelt In light and warmth, enough for everyone. But only I saw and came. You called to me through closed doors, Rooms, windows, years, and I found you at last:
calm, burning, always lit. I am christened by the heat of your fire. Every night we kneel and melt, Making in the moulding darkness, Different shadows on the walls.
THROUGH THE VOID, AN ANGEL’S CRY
SING TO ME, SING
Sing to me, sing to me, sing Through the noise and the din Insinuate Perpetuate
The truths of old.
Sing to me, sing to me, soft Through the hurry, and the haste Illuminate Communicate
The bliss foretold.
Through this broken world, a sigh Through the void, an angel`s cry For we sinners,
Christ within us,
The Light is come.
Sing to me, sing to me, clear Through the anger, through the fear Commemorate
And celebrate
His blessed love.
Sing to me, sing to me, loud Through the rushing, pushing crowd Regenerate
Accentuate
That perfect love.
Stop the shouts!, stop the cries! Search the Heavens, Search the skies.
Hush! So listen. Hush! Can you hear? Hush! Listen. Soft and clear.
(silence)
Through this broken world, a sigh Through the void, an angel`s cry For we sinners,
Christ within us,
The Light is come.
Christ is with us, Christ is here! The Truth, His holy Word, is near The Peace of God
Is all around
The peace of God
The only sound,
The Peace, the Peace.
The Peace that brings
Our ease, our calm.
His blessed Peace.
Sing to me, sing to me, sing Through the anger, through the fear Sing to me, sing to me, sing
Of His blessed Peace.
Hilary Spiers, 2009