Composer: Christopher BradfordDetailsFormat: Mixed Choir - 4 voicesVoicing: SATBIncidental Divisi: S, A, T, BSolo Requirements: SAccompaniment: instrumental ensembleInstrumentation: Violin I & IIviolacelloBassNotation: standardPerformance Length: 18:11 Study Scores & Audio FilesStudy Score & Audio Order Printed ScoresOrder site / Alternate source of score: ChristopherBradfordMusic.com Texts & TranslationsLanguage(s): EnglishText Source: William Blake, Songs of Innocence and Songs of ExperienceText: INTRODUCTION Hear the voice of the Bard, Who present, past, and future, sees; Whose ears have heard The Holy Word That walked among the ancient trees; Calling the lapséd soul, And weeping in the evening dew; That might control The starry pole, And fallen, fallen light renew! ‘O Earth, O Earth, return! Arise from out the dewy grass! Night is worn, And the morn Rises from the slumbrous mass. ‘Turn away no more; Why wilt thou turn away? The starry floor, The watery shore, Is given thee till the break of day.’ EARTH’S ANSWER Earth raised up her head From the darkness dread and drear, Her light fled, Stony, dread, And her locks covered with grey despair. ‘Prisoned on watery shore, Starry jealousy does keep my den Cold and hoar; Weeping o’er, I hear the father of the ancient men. ‘Selfish father of men! Cruel, jealous, selfish fear! Can delight, Chained in night, The virgins of youth and morning bear. ‘Does spring hide its joy, When buds and blossoms grow? Does the sower Sow by night, Or the ploughman in darkness plough? ‘Break this heavy chain, That does freeze my bones around! Selfish, vain, Eternal bane, That free love with bondage bound.’ THE GARDEN OF LOVE I went to the Garden of Love, And saw what I never had seen; A Chapel was built in the midst, Where I used to play on the green. And the gates of this Chapel were shut, And ‘Thou shalt not’ writ over the door; So I turned to the Garden of Love That so many sweet flowers bore. And I saw it was filled with graves, And tombstones where flowers should be; And priests in black gowns were walking their rounds, And binding with briars my joys and desires. THE SHEPHERD How sweet is the shepherd’s sweet lot! From the morn to the evening he strays; He shall follow his sheep all the day, And his tongue shall be fillèd with praise. For he hears the lambs’ innocent call, And he hears the ewes’ tender reply; He is watchful while they are in peace, For they know when their shepherd is nigh. LAUGHING SONG When the green woods laugh with the voice of joy, And the dimpling stream runs laughing by; When the air does laugh with our merry wit, And the green hill laughs with the noise of it; When the meadows laugh with lively green, And the grasshopper laughs in the merry scene; When Mary and Susan and Emily With their sweet round mouths sing ‘Ha ha he!’ When the painted birds laugh in the shade, Where our table with cherries and nuts is spread: Come live, and be merry, and join with me, To sing the sweet chorus of ‘Ha ha he!’ Programming AidsPerformance Difficulty: difficultDescriptive Terms: innocenceexperienceearthgardenshepherdAllow Excerpts: Yes Additional InformationDate of Completion: August, 2015Date of First Performance: Tuesday, April 26, 2016Premier Performance Data: University of Utah Chamber Choir (Barlow Bradford, cond), Libby Gardner Hall, Salt Lake City, UT