I. 

Sarah Quartel’s Songbird is a radiant celebration of melody and motion, capturing the joy of birds in song and flight. With both words and music by the composer, the piece features an evocative text in which the singers assuredly declare, “Give me a tune, I will spin you gold.” The catchy, colorful melody is introduced by  the singers in unison before weaving through the vocal parts, often buoyed by playful accompaniment. As the music unfolds, it takes flight in soaring, interwoven lines, creating a shimmering, golden tapestry of sound.

II.

Gerda Blok-Wilson described composing Today, Under Darkened Skies as an “emotional rollercoaster.” The poem, written by her dear friend Jeanette Gallant, reflects Gallant’s transformative experience at a Sooke, BC beach, where she found solace in “watching the water breathe” while facing enormous health challenges. Her words embody a “dance between challenge and grace,” mirroring her journey. The music invites the listener to reflect on the timeless interplay of darkness and light, turbulence and tranquility, and resilience and hope.

Don MacDonald was inspired to write When the Earth Stands Still while lying on the grass with his young son, both captivated by the clouds above. The song invites a loved one to embrace the present, finding beauty in life’s simplicity and the power of love, even in challenging times. Written for his wife’s advanced youth choir, Laline, this piece follows a contemporary verse-chorus structure with original lyrics, blending the styles of singer-songwriters and classical choral music.

III. 

Composed in 1891, Amy Beach’s Dusk in June is a lush and evocative portrayal of twilight’s beauty and serenity. With a flowing, impressionistic style, the piece paints a vivid musical picture of the evening hours, marked by lyricism, emotional depth, and a serene, almost ethereal quality. Beach masterfully weaves delicate textures and harmonic color to capture the contemplative mood of dusk, blending her Romantic influences with her own distinctive voice. Amy Beach was a pioneering figure in American classical music, one of the first American women to gain recognition as a composer of large-scale orchestral and choral works. At a time when female composers faced significant barriers, she forged a path with music that seamlessly merged late-Romantic traditions with uniquely American elements. Dusk in June exemplifies her ability to create deeply expressive works, reflecting both her personal musical voice and the broader American landscape.

IV.

In Natt över jorden, Swedish composer Karin Rehnqvist captures the hushed beauty of nightfall and the way our senses shift in the quiet darkness. She describes night as a time when voices soften and hearing sharpens—an experience mirrored in this delicate and immersive setting. Folk-inspired melodies intertwine with contemporary harmonies, creating a rich, atmospheric soundscape that envelops the listener in the hush of the night. With shimmering harmonies and an understated yet expressive texture, Natt över jorden paints a musical landscape of stars, depth, and wonder. The first of two movements in Sånger ur jorden (Songs for the Earth), the piece was originally composed for children's choir. It begins with a simple tune sung in canon, gradually layering with a swaying ostinato (repeating phrase) in the lower voices. This gentle repetition evokes the stillness and vastness of the night sky, drawing listeners into a state of meditative contemplation.

Noche de Lluvia (Rainy Night) is the first movement of Canciones por las Américas, a suite setting the poetry of Uruguayan writer Juana de Ibarbourou (1892–1979), an early Latin-American feminist known as "Juana de América." The piece conjures an intimate world where the quiet hum of rain against the windowpane blurs the boundaries between the warmth inside and the cool night beyond. Ibarbourou’s poetry captures a moment of deep sensuality—soft lamplight, hushed breaths, and the rhythmic patter of raindrops like delicate fingers tracing the glass. The music mirrors this atmosphere, unfolding with a smooth, understated Latin pulse that enhances the poem’s languid beauty.

Samuel Barber’s To Be Sung on the Water is a poignant elegy on the fragility of love. Some musicologists believe this a cappella choral work serves as a deeply personal and cathartic response to the emotional difficulties Barber faced at the end of his relationship with Gian Carlo Menotti. Through his choice of text and delicate musical setting, Barber offers a rare glimpse into his inner world, revealing sorrow, regret, and an ultimate resignation to love’s impermanence. Gentle, undulating lines and fluid harmonic shifts mirror the poem’s water imagery, evoking a sense of nostalgia and quiet inevitability. A principal motif ripples through the lower voices as an ostinato, upon which the poem’s narrative unfolds in the upper lines. This lilting figure conjures the image of shimmering ripples on a moonlit lake—a delicate metaphor for the passage of time and the transience of love. While many listeners may be familiar with the mixed chorus version of this piece, Barber himself created this arrangement for the higher voices. 

V. 

The Dawn is Not Distant weaves together two seemingly unrelated texts—lines from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Tales of a Wayside Inn and a passage from Genesis 15:5, sung in Latin—to create a new message of resilience and hope. Suspice caelum et numera stellas—“Look at the heavens and count the stars”—becomes a luminous refrain, echoing the vastness of the night sky and the promise of dawn. With a sparse yet expressive piano accompaniment and ethereal vocal textures, the piece unfolds with a sense of quiet wonder. The composer describes it as a message of encouragement to a former self, a reassurance that even in the darkest moments, the stars still shine and morning is near.

At the Spring Dawn is a vibrant and uplifting composition set to a poem by Angelina Grimké, capturing the exhilaration of awakening at dawn and the profound joy of being alive. Grimké, a trailblazing Black lesbian writer and activist in the early 20th century, left an indelible mark through her literary works and her dedication to social justice. Her ability to thrive and contribute meaningfully during a time of significant societal challenges is a testament to her resilience and vision. This musical setting reflects the hope and vitality found in her words, inviting listeners to celebrate life’s simple yet profound wonders.

Abbie Betinis composed Be Like the Bird as a simple yet powerful canon, originally written as her family’s 2009 Christmas card. At the time, she had just completed treatment for cancer—an experience that would deepen the piece’s significance when she faced a third diagnosis and a bone marrow transplant the following year. The text, the final stanza of a lengthy poem by Victor Hugo, was a favorite of Betinis’ grandfather, Rt. Rev. John H. Burt, who often quoted it in his sermons to inspire courage in difficult times. Discovered in the wake of his passing, these words became a mantra of resilience, hope, and trust in the face of uncertainty. Dedicated to High Rocks for Girls – an educational program co-founded by a member of Betinis' family – Be Like the Bird encourages us all to embrace life’s uncertainties with strength and grace—trusting, as the text says, that “she hath wings.”

VI. 

The Sun Never Says is a radiant musical setting of Daniel Ladinsky’s poem, inspired by the words of the 14th-century Persian Sufi poet Hafiz. Originally composed as part of LUX: The Dawn From On High for chorus and orchestra, this a cappella arrangement allows the voices and poetry to shine with clarity. The text speaks of a love as constant and generous as the sun—giving freely, never asking for anything in return, yet illuminating the whole sky. With soaring vocal lines and a simple, open tonality, the music captures the boundless warmth and beauty of unconditional love.

Song of the Flower brings to life the evocative words of Kahlil Gibran, the Lebanese-American poet and philosopher best known for The Prophet. In this text, the flower becomes a symbol of both transience and eternity, speaking of its journey through the world—born from the earth, kissed by the sun, caressed by the breeze, and destined to return to the soil. Gibran’s poetry often explores themes of beauty, longing, and the interconnectedness of all things, and Song of the Flower is no exception. The poem suggests that even the most delicate and fleeting aspects of nature hold profound wisdom and purpose. Through its vivid imagery, it invites us to see the world with wonder and to recognize the quiet strength in impermanence.