Voices of Connection: 02/08 Gregg Smith: Now I walk in beauty

GREGG SMITH Now I Walk In Beauty
Recorded at Two Rivers Chorale concert titled The Road Home on 11/12/16 at Nativity of our Lord Catholic Church, St. Paul, MN

FROM GUEST CURATOR MALCOLM J. MERRIWEATHER

Now I walk in beauty is a Navajo ceremonial song that aims to restore harmony with the earth. The song names directions (above, below) to remind us that we are all woven into the beauty of the earth. “Above” signifies the sky, heaven, stars, and the entire universe while “below” nods toward soil, bones, Mother Earth, and our ancestors. This setting was composed in 1969 and was subsequently added as the finale to his Earth Requiem (1994). I selected this performance because the conductor illustrates Smith’s love of multidimensional music. Here, the choir surrounds the audience before processing to the front of the church.

– Malcolm J. Merriweather

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