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Ellen Gilson Voth
Graphite Publishing
Hope Within
In the middle of churning waters, a familiar refrain, “It is well,” soars in the piano part and offers an anchor through the storm.
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Hope Within
SATB choir and piano
“Hope Within” takes us on a metaphorical journey across the storms of life. Hope is found by enduring life’s difficulties, not by avoiding them. And the power to face our trials comes from within each and every one of us. Voth treats the text with great sensitivity, treating it syllabically until the most important word, “hope,” is reached, drawn out in cascading melismas.
Composer’s Notes
Recently I’ve been finding my eyes drawn in new ways to how a poem or text ends. For this poem, it was the last line — “not freedom from life’s storms, but hope within” — that first grabbed my attention and inspired me to compose this work. With the voices, the piano part is a co-storyteller, painting water which rises and subsides continuously. When I considered weaving a familiar melody into this piece, the tune “Ville du Havre”, normally paired with the hymn text “It is well with my soul”, seemed like a natural choice. The hymn was born of a story of loss and resilience, and I hope that Elizabeth’s thoughtful poem and the musical language here allows us to insert our own stories of loss and comfort and hope rising, and see ourselves reflected back.
– Ellen Gilson Voth
Text
You are the voice that called me from my sleep,
“Arise and seek the shore of destiny.”
Your Wind has stirred my spirit, sworn to keep
Me sheltered through the trials of the sea.
You are my peace while raging tempests roar,
The Lighthouse true that guides me on my way,
Avoiding jagged rocks that rise once more,
To crush my fragile ship this troubled day.
You are the harbor long toward which I strive,
The hope by which through sudden storms I strain,
My sanctuary when, at last alive,
I’ll end this voyage full of toil and pain.
You joy’s sweet chorus echoes past all din,
Not freedom from life’s storms, but hope within.
-Text by Elizabeth Sunshine Koroma. Used by permission.
$2.15 per licensed PDF
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