Laudamus Sancta Matrem (from Spring Hymns)

SA choir and piano

Inspired by Benjamin Britten’s Friday Afternoons, this song is part of a series entitled Spring Hymns, written to teach young singers melodic independence through call and response, canons, and sustained breath in longer vocal lines. Rather than emphasizing sweetness, these songs celebrate mischief, curiosity, reverence, and the thrill of discovery. In acknowledging that which is greater than ourselves, we become “right-sized,” recognizing our place in the universe as both small and sacred, humble and divine. I hope that by fostering connection to the natural world, our children may grow to be protectors of the nature that sustains—and truly is—us all.