ORIGINAL HARMONY (2014)

TTBB, a cappella

Commissioned by the Singing Statesmen at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Gary Schwartzhoff, conductor
Published by Colla Voce

Secular

Choral score


Text:

It must be somewhere, the original harmony,
somewhere in great nature, hidden.
Is it in the furious infinite,
in distant stars’ orbits,
is it in the sun’s scorn,
in a tiny flower, in treegossip,
in heartmusic’s mothersong
or in tears?
It must be somewhere, immortality,
somewhere the original harmony must be found:
how else could it infuse
the human soul,
that music?

- Juhan Liiv (1864-1913) trans. H.L. Hix and Jüri Talvet