With a simple melody inspired by children's songs, All That Could Never Be Said is a setting of Sara Teasdale's poem In the End. Showcasing her signature pairing of nihilism and pastoral beauty, the poem is an exploration of regret: it suggests that the consequences of our inaction are final and absolute. There are no second chances to speak up or to act, and all our missed opportunities will be lost to us until we're reunited with them in death.

Arranger: Christopher Tin | Composer: Sara Teasdale

Shawn Kirchner burst on to the scene with three early American songs from his collection Heavenly Home. Each of the three songs were published separately--Hallelujah, Angel Band, Unclouded Day. Here they are all together as they were originally intended in a real value package. Program as a set or individually.

Arranger: Shawn Kirchner

Emily Dickinson's poem on the fragility of nature, as well as our own hand in its destruction, finds a elegiac tone in this original piece from Baba Yetu composer Christopher Tin. Palo Alto High School, Tin's alma mater, commissioned this deeply melodic composition in celebration of their centennial in 2018.

Composer: Christopher Tin

Emily Dickinson's poem on the fragility of nature, as well as our own hand in its destruction, finds a elegiac tone in this original piece from Baba Yetu composer Christopher Tin. Palo Alto High School, Tin's alma mater, commissioned this deeply melodic composition in celebration of their centennial in 2018.

Arranger: Christopher Tin | Composer: Christopher Tin

This beautiful text by Canadian poet Bliss Carman speaks to themes of peace, thankfulness and humility. The texture is mostly homophonic with brief sections of divisi to illuminate colors and images in the text. There are short passages for SSA and TBB that add interest in color and texture and also offer opportunity to feature sections.

Composer: Matthew Emery

If we can be happy and live well without causing unnecessary harm, why wouldn't we? This simple and yet profound question is the invitation for choir, listener, and all of us in this beautiful new work. Written for Donald Nally and The Crossing, this is a piece for the best choirs.

Composer: John Conahan

This beautiful folk ballad from 17th century England is haunting and timeless. The lyrics tell the story of an immigrant looking for love in a new and unfamiliar land. Each of the 3 verses varies in perspective with verse 1 sung by a baritone soloist accompanied by soaring choral dissonances. The second verse, set in 4 part canon, paints the text, And writes it by the river where the water o'er flow. In the final verse, the Soprano solo adds an unsettled sense of agony to the text, And when I get weary, I'll sit down and cry. And think of my Saro, Pretty Saro, my bride.

Arranger: Franklin Gallo

The Saddest Noise is a setting of Emily Dickinson's poem The Saddest Noise, the Sweetest Noise. It begins the story of The Lost Birds in spring: the season of birth and renewal, and a time of year when bird songs flood the skies. But what is ordinarily a joyous sound is now riddled with sorrow, as the songs of the remaining birds remind us of the ones we've already lost.

Arranger: Christopher Tin | Composer: Emily Dickinson

Wild Swans, a setting of a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay, ends the first half of The Lost Birds. Told from the point of view of the poet, it starts with the sound of bird cries: gradually approaching from a distance, until they pass overhead, triggering feelings of longing. After an instrumental interlude, and the narrator's impassioned declaration of freedom, the song ends as it started--with the cries of wild swans receding into the distance, foreshadowing their demise.

Arranger: Christopher Tin | Composer: Edna St. Vincent Millay