Jesus at the Gay Bar (2023)

for choir and piano
(SATB or SSAA or TTBB)

Jesus at the Gay Bar
CA$3.00
Voicing:
Quantity:
Add To Cart

Text: Jay Hulme (b. 1997)
Duration: 5 minutes
Difficulty: 3/4

SATB version commissioned by i Coristi Chamber Choir (Rob Curtis, dir.), and dedicated to the victims of the shooting at Club Q (Colorado Springs, CO), 19 November 2022. First performed by i Coristi with pianist Ariane Lowrey in November 2023.

TTBB version first performed by Empire City Men’s Chorus (Vince Peterson, dir.) in May 2024. SSAA version currently unperformed

As a queer person of faith, the intersection between religion and sexuality has always been important to me. I first discovered Jay Hulme’s poem circulating online following the November 2022 shooting in Colorado Springs—despite the grief and fear being felt by the queer community, Jay’s beautiful expression of love and acceptance resonated with me in a profound way.

My setting of this poem begins with rhythmic dance music played by the piano, creating a kaleidoscope of bright and contradicting harmonies. As the piece progresses, the textures and harmonies become simpler and evoke music from the English cathedral tradition, repertoire that has defined my own musical development over the last decade. The music ends with a moment of peace, as if Heaven itself has opened to welcome queer people in.

Click here to see the SATB score.

Click here to see the SSAA score.

Click here to see the TTBB score.

The audio below is a live recording of the SATB version by i Coristi Chamber Choir in November 2023.

Audio Block
Double-click here to upload or link to a .mp3. Learn more

Full Text


He’s here in the midst of it –
right at the centre of the dance floor,
robes hitched up to His knees
to make it easy to spin.

At some point in the evening
a boy will touch the hem of His robe
and beg to be healed, beg to be
anything other than this;

and He will reach His arms out,
sweat-damp, and weary from dance.
He’ll cup this boy’s face in His hand
and say,

              my beautiful child
there is nothing in this heart of yours
that ever needs to be healed.

‘Jesus at the Gay Bar’ from The Backwater Sermons by Jay Hulme is © 2021.
Published by Canterbury Press. Used by permission. rights@hymnsam.co.uk