Composer: Ryan HomseyDetailsFormat: Mixed Choir - 4 voicesVoicing: SATBIncidental Divisi: S, A, T, BAccompaniment: unaccompaniedInstrumentation: piano or organNotation: standardPerformance Length: 5:00 Study Scores & Audio FilesStudy Score & Audio Order Printed ScoresOrder site / Alternate source of score: RyanHomsey.com/scores Texts & TranslationsLanguage(s): EnglishText Source: George HerbertText: From The Temple My stock lies dead, and no increase Doth my dull husbandrie improve: O let thy graces without cease Drop from above! If still the sunne should hide his face, Thy house would but a dungeon prove, Thy works nights captives: O let grace Drop from above! The dew doth ev’ry morning fall; And shall the dew out-strip thy dove? The dew, for which grasse cannot call, Drop from above. Death is still working like a mole, And digs my grave at each remove: Let grace work too, and on my soul Drop from above. Sinne is still hammering my heart Unto a hardnesse, void of love: Let suppling grace, to crosse his art, Drop from above. O come! for thou dost know the way. Or if to me thou wilt not move, Remove me, where I need not say, Drop from above. Programming AidsPerformance Difficulty: difficultSeasonal Usage: Good FridayEasterSpringWinterDescriptive Terms: chantmysterioussacreddarkpastoralAllow Excerpts: Composition is a single movementComposer’s Notes: George Herbert’s poem is a prayer that begins on a personal level, with the immediate perils that face a struggling farmer, and then extends to questions concerning potential threats to the cosmos. In turn, I wanted to portray the sense of longing that comes as we await a sign of divine mercy on both the level of the individual and the level of the planet. Chant-like phrases interspersed with pregnant pauses are intended to draw our attention inward, while the ascending tonal modulations evoke a lack of certainty joined with growing intensity. As a result, the refrain “Drop from above” becomes more emphatic at the end of each stanza until it develops into a section unto itself, resounding like a mantra. While contemplating the mysteries of life, the poem’s speaker maintains a solid faith. Additional InformationDate of Completion: February, 2012Date of First Performance: Saturday, May 19, 2012Premier Performance Data: New Haven Oratorio Choir (Daniel Shaw, cond), Venue Church of the Redeemer, New Haven, CT