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About the Composer
Paul John Rudoi
Graphite Publishing
The Pulse of God
A 3-movement exploration of music, beauty, and one’s own spiritual evolution.
for high voice and piano
Paul John Rudoi’s “The Pulse of God” expands Daniel Ladinsky’s translation of the poem by St. Thomas Aquinas into a brief 3-movement exploration of music, beauty, and one’s own spiritual evolution. A poignant blend of theme and narrative, this is a beautiful addition to any art song recital.
Composer’s Notes
I wrote “The Pulse of God” as a way to connect myself to the conversation we’re all having around what it means to be spiritual when so much inaction has left the earth in an accelerating demise. I kept coming back to the visual of Oliver Messiaen and his obsession with birds, and how they influenced his way of musical thinking just as much as his Catholicism influenced his undying, mystic-like faith. Ultimately, I was more connected to Aquinas’ distinctly curious comfort. It seems he believed stopping to ask questions and take in space or silence can be antidotes to a confusing world. My hope is that this cycle brings a curiosity to performer and audience alike, a crucial part in any spiritual journey.
– Paul John Rudoi
Text
1. The limbs of a tree reached down and lifted me,
thinking I was its
child.
And in the
meadows my spirit becomes so quiet
that if I put my cheek against the earth’s body
I feel the pulse of
God.
2. “Tell me the way you do that, birds–
enter the private chambers of my Lord.”
And they all sang,
they just
sang.
I gathered it was time to become a musician,
and I did.
3. Years passed,
and the sky reached down one day and lifted me;
the birds noticed and
spoke,
“How do you enter the Sun like that
and know the pulse of
God?”
– St. Thomas Aquinas, trans. Daniel Ladinsky
$5.50 per licensed PDF
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