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About the Composer
Jennifer Lucy Cook
Graphite Publishing
They Are Mother (SATB & String Quintet – Parts)
A joyous, playful celebration of a loving, all-inclusive creator — Mother Nature.
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They Are Mother
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They Are Mother
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They Are Mother
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They Are Mother
for SATB div. choir, SA solo group, and string quintet
This is the Set of Parts.
“They Are Mother” captures the nonbinary and nonsingular mystery and grandeur of the divine creating force: Mother Nature. This piece features a blend of traditional choral vocal technique and elements of modern pop singing and will highlight creative soloists in the ensemble.
Composer’s Notes
When I was working on the words for this piece, I consulted with my friend Reverend Alex Reegan, who is a trans man and interfaith minister, to create a text that embodies the energy of the feminine divine that is present in any gender. I chose to use they/them pronouns, which capture both the nonbinary and the nonsingular mystery and grandeur of the divine creating force, and by doing so, welcomes everyone into the work.
I wanted to explore the many aspects of the divine; pairing a grounded Mother Nature with a joyous playful being who is capable of laughter, a force that is present in the large and small moments, the noise and the silence, and most importantly, the divine creative spark in each of us. That all-inclusive, loving creative spirit shows up for me in the potential for movement (“the ready muscle in the sprinter”), the pleasures of modern life, (“the steady heat lamp in the winter”), and serves as a reminder not to take myself too seriously (“laugh lines around the all-seeing eye”). In identifying a creator this way, I channel these same qualities into my own life and my own identity, and it’s my hope that the audience for “They Are Mother” finds themselves within it too.
– Jennifer Lucy Cook
Text
What shall I call this force I know
Who do I come to when I wonder
The space that holds me when I’m low
More than a parent, friend, or lover
They are Mover
They are Maker
They are Mother, mm
They are Mother, mm
They are the breath I see in cold
The ready muscle in the sprinter
They are the glitter and the gold
The steady heat lamp in the winter
They are Mover
They are Maker
They are Mother, mm
They are Mother, mm
They nod and know
They need nothing
They’re god and grow
They bleed blessings
They nod and know
They need nothing
They’re god and grow
They bleed blessings
They are solitude
They are multitude
They are gratitude
Gratitude
Laugh lines around the all-seeing eye
And I can lean into the sky
Laugh lines around the all-seeing eye
And I can lean into the sky
What shall I call this force I know
Who do I come to when I wonder
They are Mover
They are Maker
They are Mother, mm
They are Mother, mm
They are Mother, mm
They are Mother, mm
– Jennifer Lucy Cook
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