A Musical Medley
I always intended my blog to include things I make. Here's a first submission.
I arranged a medley of Lift Every Voice and Sing (James Weldon Johnson and J. Rosamond Johnson) and Come, Come Ye Saints (William Clayton). The performance is all me. I'm happy to share the sheet music as a pdf or a MuseScore file on request. Any of my parts of the creation can be used under CC-BY-NC, or contact me for other uses.
The embroidery and carved frame are something I did for my wife. Mostly DMC floss on repurposed linen. The dancers are based on pictures from The Art of Movement by Ken Browar and Deborah Ory. The wood is from a local oak that fell in a tornado, coated in epoxy.
Lift Every Voice and Sing
James Weldon Johnson
Lift every voice and sing,
'Til earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the listening skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
Let us march on 'til victory is won.
Stony the road we trod,
Bitter the chastening rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat,
Have not our weary feet
Come to the place For which our fathers died.
We have come, over a way that with tears has been watered,
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past,
'Til now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.
God of our weary years,
God of our silent tears,
Thou who has brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who has by Thy might
Led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet, stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee,
Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee;
Shadowed beneath Thy hand,
May we forever stand,
True to our God,
True to our native land.
Come, Come Ye Saints
William Clayton
3rd and 4th verses combined
Come, come, ye saints, no toil nor labor fear;
But with joy wend your way.
Though hard to you this journey may appear,
Grace shall be as your day.
Tis better far for us to strive
Our useless cares from us to drive;
Do this, and joy your hearts will swell -
All is well! All is well!
Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard?
'Tis not so; all is right.
Why should we think to earn a great reward
If we now shun the fight?
Gird up your loins; fresh courage take.
Our God will never us forsake;
And soon we'll have this tale to tell-
All is well! All is well!
We'll find the place which God for us prepared,
Happy day! All is well!
Where none shall come to hurt or make afraid;
With the just we shall dwell!
We'll make the air, with music ring,
Shout praises to our God and King;
Oh, how we'll make this chorus swell-
All is well! All is well!