Wake Up, My Spirit
A setting of Psalm 57 for mixed chorus with oboe and harp.
Duration: 3' 45"
Difficulty: 4/5 (Difficulty Rating Overview)
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VOICES
Mixed Chorus (divisi, no solos)
INSTRUMENTS
Oboe
Harp
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Wake Up, My Spirit
Psalm 57:7-11, adapted by J.A.C. Redford
Wake up, my spirit
awake, lute and harp;
I myself will waken the dawn.
My heart is ready, my heart is ready, O God;
I will sing, and make music for you.
Wake up, my spirit
awake, lute and harp.
I myself will waken the dawn.
My heart is firmly, firmly fixed, O God;
I will make music for you, O my Glory, O my Soul.
I will confess you among the peoples, O Lord.
I will sing praise to you among the nations.
For your loving kindness is greater than the heavens
and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God,
and your glory over all the earth.
Wake up, my spirit
awake, lute and harp;
I myself will waken the dawn.
My heart is ready, my heart is ready, O God;
I will sing, and make music for you.
I will sing, and make music for you.
Copyright 2009 by J.A.C. Redford. All rights reserved.
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PROGRAM NOTES
J.A.C. Redford
The modal lyricism of Wake Up, My Spirit combines elements of Renaissance counterpoint with a free chromaticism characteristic of contemporary harmony. It features a winsome rhythmic gesture found in traditional Irish music – the sixteenth note followed by a dotted eighth. In hushed and vibrant anticipation the choir and instrumentalists become a piper coaxing the sun out of hiding. Their song comes from Psalm 57; after a night of anxiety for his very life, David now looks with hope to the morning. This modern setting of an ancient text breathes fresh joy as the singers repeat the Psalmist’s affirmation, “my heart is ready . . . to sing and make music for you!”
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Wake Up, My Spirit was composed for Kansas City Chorale and its Artistic Director, Charles Bruffy, who premiered the work on 13 December 2009.