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Elizabeth Alexander
Elizabeth Alexander (Seafarer Press)
Calm the Tempests of My Heart (flexible voicing)
A prayer for peace within one’s own heart.
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Calm the Tempests of My Heart
Flexible voicing: 2-4 pt choir a cappella
For much of his life, the 19th century Danish philosopher and theologian Søren Kierkegaard struggled with depression, then referred to as “melancholy.” Often called “the father of existentialism,” Kierkegaard wrote eloquently about despair, calling it “”sickness of the spirit” or “sickness unto death.” In this small, intimate prayer he makes a plea for help and solace as he faces his disquiet, which he terms “the tempests of my heart.”
“Calm the Tempests of My Heart,” originally commissioned as a Lenten meditation, is a universal invitation to humility, vulnerability and peace.
NOTE: The “Flexible Voicing” arrangement of this song includes voicings for 2-part, 3-part, and 4-part ensembles, each of which reflects a different facet of Kierkegaard’s timeless prayer.
Composer’s Notes
For much of his life, the 19th century Danish philosopher and theologian Søren Kierkegaard struggled with depression, then referred to as “melancholy.” Often called “the father of existentialism,” Kierkegaard wrote eloquently about despair, calling it “sickness of the spirit” or “sickness unto death.” In this small, intimate prayer he calls it “the tempests of my heart.”
Two centuries later, I couldn’t help but be moved profoundly by Kierkegaard’s plea for help and solace. It doesn’t hide behind any sort of formality or studied eloquence. It is tender and vulnerable. It makes my heart ache. When I was commissioned to write a flexibly-voiced Lenten meditation for a local church, I knew immediately what my text would be – and I knew my musical setting would be as emotionally transparent as Kierkegaard’s words already were.
-Elizabeth Alexander
Text
Calm the tempests of my heart, O my God.
Calm the tempests of my heart, O my God.
Be still, O my soul, so that God may rest in thee,
Bringing peace that the world can never take away.
-Søren Kierkegaard
Adapted text © 2012 by Elizabeth Alexander
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Original Prayer by Sören Kierkegaard
Calm the waves of this heart, O God; calm its tempests.
Calm yourself, O my soul, so that God is able to rest in you, so that God’s peace may cover you.
Yes, You can give us peace, O God, peace that the whole world can never take away.
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