To the Earth I give my steady hands (2020)

SATB choir – 3-4 min

Program Notes

To the Earth I give my steady hands

Silent, calm and patient gaze

The years inch slowly on.

The way things change with supple grace –

Aimless, never far.

Silent, calm and patient storm

Could I ever be as strong

As the fragile child whose bindings melt

Washed away with ease?

Silent, calm and patient love

I awaken at your dawn.

To the Earth I give my steady hands

To one day wade among the stars.

Steven Gudino (2020)

I wrote this text concerning the internal dialogue / conflict one may have when confronting one's own spirituality and connection to the cosmos. The narrator seeks out three forms of purity, Time, Nature, and Love, in the attempt to reach God, to understand their place in the universe, and to answer the question: Am I worthy of eternity? 

With their question unanswered, the narrator ultimately finds solace in a covenant with all three purities, in the hopes of eventually returning to dust in the cosmos above.

– Steven Gudino

         To the Earth I give my steady hands is dedicated to my parents, Shannon and Tom Barrett, in sincere gratitude for all the support and nourishment they have given me over my 22 years of life, and was written for the North Valley Chorale, which my mother sings in. This was such an amazing opportunity for me, as I have been watching this choir’s concerts for a large portion of my life and would consider many of the members my friends. The composition of this piece relied heavily on a tonal backbone and a variety of cluster harmonies, juxtaposing two key centers of A flat major and B major. With this work, I hope to emphasize the beautiful elements of Steven’s poem and provide images of nature and the cosmos.

– Madeline Barrett