Lao Tzu aboard the Santa Maria
for chorus
Program Notes
The concept of this piece was created by imagining a sailor being aboard the Santa Maria with Christopher Columbus on his first voyage across the Atlantic. The imagined vastness of sea and sky led to the mind of Lao Tzu as the creator of the text, contrasting his relation to the world ("being in the Tao") compared to his fellow sailors. Musically, I simply attempted to create a "perfect" melody for my text and then performed that melody while singing all the other vocal parts until a choral texture was accumulated. I assign such a procedure to my students--thus, a case of a taste of my own medicine.
Text
Aboard the Santa Maria
by Doug Davis
My mind is sky
Without sun or stars
Yet lighted blue and vast
My tongue is mute
No words to form
From clouds that never pass
I await the sun
Or is it moon
that comes to guide our path?
Others move with purpose
They knot and fold
They tie and mend and sew
Unemployed, I watch for dawn
Unattached, I feel as dust
Others sing with zeal
Of love and joy,
Of journeys bold and fearless
Unemployed, I have no home
Unattached, I'm left alone
Others seem to know
And share their visions fair
I alone am confused
Aimless, patient as cloudless sky
Others seem so assured
And filled with clever praise
I alone am unsure
Yet wait the dawn of day
My mind is the sea
Without wave or wind
Set adrift I hold this vigil
My thought is vast
No boundaries to find
No horizon of sea and sky
I await the land
I await my home
Yet, distant is the dawn
I await our land
I await our home
Patient as the sea
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