In fall 2021, I was contacted about the possibility of writing a commission for a new lecture-performance
series that was starting at a church in Indianapolis. The theme of one of these lectures was
going to be "creation care," a subject that is very relevant in today's world and yet has inspired very
few compositions.
Scripture is rather quiet about this theme, which made finding a suitable text challenging. However,
Isaiah, in several passages, calls on nature's imagery to foreshadow and delineate God's work in the world.
The resulting composition is based on chant (Tone 4), and relies on a cello obligato to create the atmosphere of the work.
You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its farthest regions,
And said to you,
‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you and have not cast you away:
Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
“The poor and needy seek water, but there is none,
Their tongues fail for thirst.
I, the Lord, will hear them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
I will open rivers in desolate heights,
And fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
And the dry land springs of water.
I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree,
The myrtle and the oil tree;
I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine
And the box tree together,
That they may see and know,
And consider and understand together,
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.