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Jeffrey Derus
Caribbean Blue Publishing (Jeffrey Derus)
Mother of Exiles
Searching for a land to call home, we all deserve a life full of freedom and peace.
SATB Chorus, Treble Soli, Soprano Solo & Piano
Commissioned by Colleen Chester and the choirs of San Luis Obispo High Schools and Laguna Middle School, this piece is set for a combined SATB chorus, SSA trio, and Soprano soloist, accompanied by piano. This famous text is known as a call to all those in need of refuge. The SATB chorus acts as the people already safe and secure in the land of the free. The soloist represents the mighty woman with a torch known as the Mother of Exiles. There is a feeling of homage and longing in the piano accompaniment while the soprano solo provides a clear ray of light for all those who seek freedom’s golden door. This piece will program well with themes of freedom, social justice, and the hope of belonging.
Text
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name,
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command.
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
-Emma Lazarus
$2.50 per licensed PDF
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