SATB/SSAA/TTBB, unaccompanied
Published by Santa Barbara Music:
I See
Do You Believe
I Know
A setting of three poems by Maria V.S. Seigenthaler commissioned by the Foundation for Universal Sacred Music about birth, belief and the power of music. They can be performed separately or as a set.
Duration: 10’ 20”
I See
Libretto:
I saw
I saw the light
Before I knew to call it light
I saw the light
At the moment I was born
And I cried out for the darkness
For the soft smooth darkness
For the dark-ness that had been my only home.
Then I felt
I felt the cold
Before I knew to call it cold
I felt the cold
And I wailed out for the warm
The warm and the closeness
Of the soft smooth darkness
And the rhythm of the comfort I had known.
Then I felt
I felt the love
Before I knew to call it love
I felt the love
As it touched and held and fed me.
Then I welcomed in the light
For the love was in the light
Where I came to see that I am not alone.
In the light I saw that I am not alone.
Do You Believe?
Libretto:
Do you believe in the brawn of the brawny tree?
Do you believe in the power of the powerful sea?
In the mighty mighty bite of the itty bitty flea?
Do you?
Do you believe?
Do you believe there is justice in the jungle wild?
Do you believe there is bedlam in the meadow mild?
That there’s a little piece of evil even in the sweetest child?
Do you?
Do you believe?
Do you believe a piranha can be a pussy cat?
Do you believe a pampered poodle can be a sewer rat?
That the sluggiest of slugs can be an acrobat?
Hey, you there!
Do you dare believe the star above you that
Shines like a beacon every night blinked out
Years upon years and years ago.
And that the
Wisest of wisest of wisest men
Just may not know the one true
Answer that you alone know.
(You know? You know? You know? You know?)
OR.
Do you believe in the knowers and the truth they spout?
Do you believe in the insiders and revere their clout?
Do you believe they know what every little thing is all about?
Or do you dare to put your faith in doubt doubt doubt?
Do you believe?
Do you believe?
Do you believe?
What… Do you believe?
Do you believe in the brawn of the brawny tree?
Do you believe in the power of the powerful sea?
In the mighty mighty bite of the itty bitty flea?
Do you?
Do you believe?
Do you believe there is justice in the jungle wild?
Do you believe there is bedlam in the meadow mild?
That there’s a little piece of evil even in the sweetest child?
Do you?
Do you believe?
Do you believe a piranha can be a pussy cat?
Do you believe a pampered poodle can be a sewer rat?
That the sluggiest of slugs can be an acrobat?
Hey, you there!
Do you dare believe the star above you that
Shines like a beacon every night blinked out
Years upon years and years ago.
And that the
Wisest of wisest of wisest men
Just may not know the one true
Answer that you alone know.
(You know? You know? You know? You know?)
OR.
Do you believe in the knowers and the truth they spout?
Do you believe in the insiders and revere their clout?
Do you believe they know what every little thing is all about?
Or do you dare to put your faith in doubt doubt doubt?
Do you believe?
Do you believe?
Do you believe?
What… Do you believe?
I Know
Libretto:
I do not know why we hurt
I do not know why we hate
I do not know why we torture,
Tangle, taunt, manipulate.
But I know why I sing.
I know why I dance.
I know why I mold my words into my poem.
I know why I sing and when I sing I know.
I know God.
A golden June bug flies in through my window…
She zooms an arc over papers pens and desk.
And so just now, I know.
I do not know why the drought.
I do not know why the flood.
I do not know why the lightning,
Earthquake, hurricane or blood.
Why we bruise, blame and burn
Why we maim; mortify.
Why we must fight, force and frame
And scorn and swear and steal and lie
Why we kill; Why we die.
But I know why I laugh.
I know why I smile.
I know why I question and know why I ask
I know why I laugh, and when I laugh I know.
I know God.
I do not know why we die.
But I know why I sing.