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FLIGHT SONG was composed as a heartfelt birthday gift to Dr. Anton Armstrong, the esteemed conductor of the St. Olaf Choir. This piece is a tribute to his profound personal connection with the choir and his unique approach to choral music, celebrating the transformative power of song in our lives.
The composition is characterized by its melodic richness and singable quality. Simple yet flowing, it is imbued with a sense of gratitude and thankfulness.
The lyrics, penned by my friend Euan Tait, beautifully articulate the theme of a hidden song within each singer, and the conductor drawing that song from the singers: their hidden, unfolding life stories, their deep longings. The arms of the conductor, like great wings, shape the singing. The final message is that music-making is the song of new life, fragile as a feather's fall.
As someone who experienced the joy of singing in a choir during my childhood, I resonate deeply with the impact of choral music has on young singers. Flight Song is a celebration of this journey. It is song for all who find their voice (and their wings) in the world of singing.
Songs of lives unfolding fly overhead, cry overhead: longing, rising from the song within.
Moving like the rise and fall of wings, hands that shape our calling voice on the edge of answers you’ve heard our cry, you’ve known our cry: music’s fierce compassion flows from you.
The night is restless with the sounds we hear, is broken, shaken by the cries of pain: for this is music’s inner voice, saying, yes, we hear you, all you who cry aloud, and we will fly, answering you: so our lives sing, sing, wild we will fly, wild in spirit we will fly.
Like a feather falling from the wing, fragile as a human voice, afraid, uncertain, alive to love, we sing as love, afraid, uncertain, yet our flight begins as song.
