Composer: John MuehleisenDetailsFormat: Mixed Choir - 5 voices or moreVoicing: SSAATTBBIncidental Divisi: SAccompaniment: unaccompaniedNotation: standardPerformance Length: 6:30 Study Scores & Audio FilesStudy Score & Audio Order Printed ScoresPublisher: Muehleisen MusicOrder site / Alternate source of score: johnmuehleisen.com Texts & TranslationsLanguage(s): EnglishText Source: Carl Sandburg, "Smoke and Steel" (1920)Text: The double moon, one on the high backdrop of the west, one on the curve of the river face, The sky moon of fire and the river moon of water, I am taking these home in a basket, hung on an elbow, such a teeny weeny elbow, in my head. I saw them last night, a cradle moon, two horns of a moon, such an early hopeful moon, such a child’s moon for all young hearts to make a picture of. The river—I remember this like a picture—the river was the upper twist of a written question mark. I know now it takes many many years to write a river, a twist of water asking a question. And white stars moved when the moon moved, and one red star kept burning, and the Big Dipper was almost overhead. Programming AidsPerformance Difficulty: difficultSeasonal Usage: SpringDescriptive Terms: naturewatermoonmemoryAlzheimersAllow Excerpts: Composition is a single movementComposer’s Notes: "River Moons" was commissioned in 2005 by Choral Arts Ensemble of Rochester, Minnesota for a concert of works entitled A Word’s Worth, featuring choral settings of texts by a variety of English-language poets, including Dickinson, Blake, Tennyson, Whitman, Bridges, and Shakespeare. The work was premiered in May 2006. "River Moons" is dedicated to my father, Gene Muehleisen, who, as the dedication reads, “taught me to appreciate the sacramental beauty of Nature.” His long and eminent career in law enforcement was framed by service as a seasonal ranger in Yosemite National Park, a place of wonder and grandeur that he taught me to appreciate and to love. Additional InformationDate of Completion: December, 2005Date of First Performance: Monday, March 6, 2006Premier Performance Data: Choral Arts Ensemble (Michael Culloton, cond), Rochester, MNAdditional Performances: May 22, 2011: Pacific Choir from Pacific Youth Choirs (Mia Hall Miller, cond.) Sept 24, 2011: Chor Anno (Howard Meharg, cond.) March 11, 2012: John Alexander Singers (John Alexander, cond.) Oct. 12, 2012: Johannesbergs Vokalensemble (Jan K. Delemark, cond.) Oct. 11, 2014: Opus 7 Vocal Ensemble (Loren, Ponten, cond.) April 22 + 23, 2017: Oregon Repertory Singers (Ethan Sperry, cond.)