SSAA + piano
Editor’s Choice, J.W. Pepper

NOTE FROM THE COMPOSER

I have set prose, poetry, quotes, and other writings of over 120 literary “giants” throughout my compositional career. Sara Teasdale (1884-1933) stands as one of the two or three writers whom I most closely identify or relate to relative to their writing style. The original poem is titled, “There Will Be Rest.”

This work was commissioned by the West Point Military Academy.

TEXT

There will be rest, and sure stars shining,
Over the roof-tops crowned with snow.
A reign of rest, serene forgetting,
The music of stillness holy and low.

I will make this world of my devising,
Out of a dream in my lonely mind,
I shall find the crystal of peace,
–above me
Stars I shall find.