dedicated to Mark Burrows and the Choral Union of the First United Methodist Church of Fort Worth
click here (7.4 MB mp3 file) to hear a recording of the premiere performance, on April 30, 2006
THE CREATION
(darkness, empty, nothing)
In the beginning there was nothing, nothing but the void.
Then God had an idea,
And in that instant
Everything started to happen:
Gluons and leptons frolicking, everything blossoming,
Creation's trumpet echoing, symmetries rupturing,
Ripples of space and time everywhere,
As Time began.
And then the light broke through:
Glorious light! Shining on all that God made.
Oh, that was quite a day!
And then God stirred the heavens,
And from the swirls, bright lights appeared,
And around these bright new lights
Pebbles and boulders were drawing together,
Forming new worlds and their moons.
And God saw that it was going well
And called it a day.
On this world it began to rain.
Soothing and cooling, water flowed,
And God saw that it was good.
In the warm waters
A dance of molecules began—
Ever more intricate, ever more beautiful.
And soon the seas were ALIVE!
It had been a long, long day (a billion years or so),
And God saw that it was good.
Soon, a thin layer of life covered the land as well,
A carpet of green, embossed with blossoms.
Then creatures appeared:
Crawling creatures, climbing creatures, creeping creatures, clambering creatures.
The critters ate well.
And God saw that it was good.
A few of the critters
Seemed more aware and especially curious.
They built great cities,
And touched the moon,
And aspired to the stars.
And God saw that it was good.
Like a wildfire blazing across the landscape of time,
The burning present separates the past from the future.
Sparks of life leaping from generation to generation
As creation continues.
At the end of time, we will all have joined in God's rest,
And looking back together with God,
We will all agree
That it was good.
(text by the composer)
For further information, contact the composer at this email address: