I Saw Above a World of Sky

No One is Unchanging

This phrase becomes a mantra, repeated and reacknowledged so strongly that it must be the inspiration for the whole thing, right? It actually is an accidental (but very intentionally utilized) byproduct of two separate texts coming together to form one musical piece!

When asked to compose a piece for the incredible Cantala Treble choir, I knew I needed a good text to match the very meaning-driven performance practice of these wonderful musicians. I was inspired by each member’s individuality, artistic vision, and connectedness to each other.

In the end, I was hopelessly debating between the two texts “Autumn Dusk” and “White Fog.” Both were written by Sara Teasdale about a year apart from each other, and both tell a slightly different version where the speaker is alone and finds power or peace in that solitude. Either could stand on its own as a lovely setting for a choral piece.

After weeks of trying to discern which to set, I had a moment of clarity that the very refusal of a final choice could be the foundation of the piece: Why must every poem be set entirely as is? Why must every work be its own separate thought? What would happen if I were to set one full poem, a fragment of another, and a new text with nearly all the same words, but a new order and, thus, a new understanding of them?

From these questions came “I Saw Above a World of Sky”, which follows an arc starting at complete disconnection and ending in such an interconnectedness that one can no longer easily distinguish which text is which. Individuality, the very thing that both these poems focus on, is challenged as the texts intertwine with each other and their own identities as separate poems are lost.

However, Teasdale’s focus is not absent: after shifting texts, musical textures, and ranges, we return back to the starting solitude, only this time admitting to the changes that affect us. Even with a century between the writing of Teasdale’s texts and this piece and however much time rests between the writing of this piece and the singing of it, we affect and are affected by each other. We are changed when we allow ourselves to be changed.

📸Mackinzee Carpenter