like a tree

Length: 3:45

Voicing: SATB voices (moderate divisi), a cappella

Difficulty: Intermediate

Year: 2024

Text:

Lord, let me be like a tree
planted by a stream,
yielding fruit in season,
leaves evergreen.

Let me flourish.
Let me prosper.

Text adapted from Psalm 1:3

About the work:

I was drawn to adapt the text of Psalm 1:3 because of the beautiful image it conjures: a tree planted by a stream, nourished so it can set roots in the ground, and grow branches and leaves towards the sky. I've spent much time lately thinking of how the people and environments I surround myself in within my own life either allow me to to flourish and prosper, or to wither and dry. I adapted the text into a first person prayer, both to freshen the language to appeal to a modern audience's ear, and also because I liked the idea of appealing to a higher power to help achieve the monumental task of pursuing goodness and truth. I'm no longer traditionally religious, but the idea of putting ourselves in environments where we can flourish is universal and something I resonated strongly with.

Musically, I focused on one central idea: the concept of growing like a tree. I tried to achieve this through the harmonic language, that begins quite hymn-like (an homage to the source text), and grows in complexity as the piece "flourishes and prospers." I also achieved this through the musical texture. The rhythms initially begin simply and steadily, with some stark emptiness between phrases, and grows in richness and complexity as the piece progresses, like a tree sprouting branches and driving its roots deeper into the ground as it ages. By the end of the piece, I hope to evoke the image of a lush, green, towering tree, glorious and splendid in its old age.