Program Notes
Nothing has brought me nearer to the brink of insanity more than my futile grip on life. Controlling, planning, and carefully crafting the next step continues to be virtually pointless, and yet I persist. *sigh* Letting go is beautiful but elusive, like hanging onto smoke, and impatience is always at my heels. Mystery is the musical ravings of a slightly deranged person reminding themselves to trust the process – after all, what good is a life without surprises? “Once you tell a secret, there’s no secret left to tell”, and thus, life keeps her mystery guarded. There’s an unrelenting rhythm, to be sure, but the accents are off kilter, the piano in clusters, and sometimes the tenors and sopranos sing two clashing melody lines simultaneously, all at a tempo that could easily become a runaway train. It’s a hymn for the chaotic good that ultimately awaits us when we sit back and enjoy the view of the unknown.
Voicing
SATB w/ Piano
Duration:
3 minutes
Commissioner:
Commissioned by Box Elder High School under the direction of Casey Wood, for Utah ACDA, 2022
Text
Life keeps her mystery
Mystery, mystery
Life keeps her mystery
Carefully guarded
I hear the whispering
Whispering, whispering
I hear the whispering
Of the uncharted
Fate likes to hide away,
Hide away, hide away
Fate likes to hide away
Keeping me guessing
Once you tell a secret
There’s no secret left to tell
Tell me tell me tell me tell me
Don’t tell me
Life keeps her mystery
Mystery, mystery
Life keeps her mystery
Carefully guarded
I tried to know it all
Know it all, know it all
I tried to know it all
From the beginning
Like it was logical
Logical, logical
Like it was logical
Stepping-stone motion
But the plans changed
And the plans changed
And the plans changed
And the plans changed
Trust is a miracle
Miracle, miracle
Trust is a miracle
I am still learning
I’m laughing wondering
Wondering, wondering
I’m laughing wondering
Where am I going now