Song of Myself (2019)

for SATB divisi choir, a cappella

Song of Myself
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Text: Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
Duration: 6.5 minutes
Difficulty: 3/4

Commissioned by The Fourth Choir (London, UK) in celebration of their fifth anniversary. First performed by The Fourth Choir (Dominic Ellis-Peckham, dir.) in March 2019.

Song of Myself is one of those special works, directly inspired by the ensemble for whom it was written. I have had an extraordinarily positive relationship with The Fourth Choir, a London-based queer chamber choir, whose rich sound and passion for inventive programming directly inspired this work. The text, excerpted from the eponymous poem by Walt Whitman, is lush and fierce. It speaks not only of individuality and expression, but of sexuality and gender. This piece highlights the strength inherent in the text, beginning and ending with repetition of the words ‘I am’, eventually transformed into a statement of empowerment: ‘I am enough’.

Click here to see the complete score.

Live recording currently unavailable. MIDI available on request.

Full Text

from Song of Myself (1855 version)

I am the poet of the Body;
And I am the poet of the Soul.

I am the poet of the woman the same as the man;
And I say it is as great to be a woman as to be a man;
And I say there is nothing greater than the mother of men.

I am satisfied—I see, dance, laugh, sing:
As the hugging and loving Bed-fellow sleeps at my side through the night,
and withdraws at the peep of the day, with stealthy tread.

I exist as I am—that is enough;
If no other in the world be aware, I sit content;
And if each and all be aware, I sit content.