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About the Composer
Isaac Lovdahl
Graphite Publishing
Desiderata
We each have something unique and meaningful to offer the world, despite all our fears and doubts.
for SATB choir a cappella
The title translates: “things desired.” Lovdahl’s setting gently affirms the goodness of “you:” be gentle to yourself, you are important, you are a child of the universe and you have something important to say—a verse to write. The choral textures gradually rise to an intense climax on the word “stars.” The piece then concludes gradually with a gentle groove on the words: “the powerful play goes on.” Short, digestible, satisfying, and gorgeous, Desiderata is, indeed, a choral work “to be desired.”
Composer’s Notes
Desiderata explores universal themes of identity, self worth, and human potential in the face of existential uncertainty. We each have something unique and meaningful to offer the world, despite all our fears and doubts. What meaning will you create for yourself today? What will your contribution to humanity be? This piece was born out of a desire to create something greater than myself and to encourage others to do the same.
-Isaac Lovdahl
Text
Be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars. You have a right to be
here.
-Excerpted from Max Ehrmann’s Desiderata (1927).
You are here — life exists and identity. The powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.
-Excerpted from Walt Whitman’s O Me! O Life! (1892) and adapted for use by the composer.
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