Art Song

Available Editions:

Free PDF Editions:

• Leafs from the Diary of an Old Soul - Medium High Voice.pdf
• Leafs from the Diary of an Old Soul - Medium Low Voice.pdf
• Leafs from the Diary of an Old Soul - Medium High & Medium Low Voice editions.pdf

Printed Edition on Lulu.com:

Leafs from the Diary of an Old Soul
Contains both Medium High
& Medium Low Voice Editions

About "Leafs from the Diary of an Old Soul"

C.S. Lewis, perhaps the greatest Christian apologist of the 20th century and author of the popular children’s book series, "The Chronicles of Narnia," considered George MacDonald his mentor and spiritual guide. MacDonald himself was an Anglican minister for a time, but was forced to give up the ministry because of his radical beliefs. He is best known for his fairy tales, but also wrote many sermons, books and some poetry.

"The Diary of an Old Soul," MacDonald’s largest poetic work, consists of 365 four-line stanzas, one for each day of the year. These poems deal mainly with MacDonald’s strife in reconciling himself to God. Out of these pleadings I have selected a number of stanzas that speak to me. They are primarily about life, death, rebirth, beauty and the power of creation. "Leafs from the Diary of an Old Soul" was composed mainly in 2003.

Recordings:

I performed 2 Selections from Leafs from the Diary of an Old Soul before the work was completed at a new composition showcase on BYU Campus in 2003.

• Thy Fishes Breathe.mp3
• Come To Me Lord.mp3

At this time there are no other recordings available. Be the first to record the entire set in concert. Send your live recording to be posted here. I’ll be glad to link back to your singer site. Contact info is listed in all editions of the piece.

The Texts:

Excerpted from The Diary of an Old Soul by George Macdonald. Note: Entries that spanned several days in the original collection have been dated with the day the poem began. A few entries were edited or truncated by myself for poetic and musical reasons.

1. Thy Fishes Breathe - Entry of January 5th
   
   Thy fishes breathe but where thy waters roll;
   Thy birds fly but within thy airy, sea;
   My soul breathes only in thy infinite soul;
   I breathe, I think, I love, I live, but thee.
   Oh breathe, oh think, O Love live into me!
   
   
2. Come to me Lord - Entry of January 30th
   
   Come to me, Lord: I will not speculate how,
   Nor think at which door I would have thee appear,
   Nor put off calling til my floors be swept,
   but cry, "Come, Lord, come any way, come now."
   
   Thou wilt interpret life to me,
   and men, art, nature, my own soul’s mysteries;
   bringing truth out, clear joyous to my ken,
   Fair as the morn trampling the dull night.
   
   Then the lone hillside shall hear exultant cries;
   The joyous see me joy, the weeping weep;
   The watching smile,
   as Death breathes on me his cold sleep.
   
   
3. Gloriously Wasteful - Entry of March 2nd
   
   Gloriously wasteful, O Lord, art thou!
   Sunset faints after sunset into the night,
   Spendorously dying from thy window sill forever.
   
   In the perfect time,
   When we are in our natal home,
   What if thou make us able to make like thee:
   To light with moons, to clothe with greenery,
   To hang gold sunsets over a rose and purple sea!
   
   Then one to his neighbor may call out,
   "Come! Brother come hither:
   I would show you a thing;"
   And lo, a vision of his imagining,
   then each soul to each the closer cling!
   
   
4. Childness Fresh - Entry of October 20th
   
   I shall with childness fresh, look up to thee;
   Thou, seeing thy child with age encumbered sore,
   wilt round him bend thine arm more carefully.
   
   And when grim Death doth take me by the throat,
   Thou wilt have pity on thy handiwork;
   and draw my soul out,
   gladder than thy saved creatures from the narrow ark
   who rushing out leaped and laughed and cried for joy,
   And the great rainbow strode across the dark.
   
   
5. To Part for Praise - Entry of December 12th
   
   Give me a world, to part for praise and sunder.
   The brooks be bells;
   The winds in caverns dumb, awake fife and flute, flageolet and voice;
   The fire shook earth itself be the great drum;
   Rivers, seas, icebergs fill the great score up and under;
   Let the air the regions bass out thunder!

Available Editions:

Free PDF Editions:

• The Water Grasses - High Voice.pdf

About "The Water Grasses"

Alas, the place that this poem talks about no longer exists. There was a canal that ran along the road north of the BYU Museum of Art. I used to walk along that road on the way out to the parking lot where I usually left my car. The canal was filled with the most beautiful water grasses and mosses and surrounded by lawns and trees; green all over. It was truly picturesque. Unfortunately, in the name of water conservation, the canal has been put underground in a pipe. We may enjoy the water, but no longer the beauty.

I wrote this song for a dear friend, soprano Clara Hurtado Lee, who gave the song’s premiere. It has since been smoothed out in a couple of places. There were some transitions that I was never happy about until I reworked them in February of 2008. This is why it is only available now, for the first time, 8 years after it was premiered.

Recordings:

At this time there are no recordings available. Send your live recording to be posted here. I’ll be glad to link back to your singer site. Contact info is listed in each edition of the piece.

The Text:

The Water Grasses by M Ryan Taylor 

The water grasses flow gently in the stream,
they softly sway left to right and back again.
I wonder at their permanence in the flow of constantly moving water.
The water grasses flow in the stream.

The seed of these grasses, long since rooted in cool mud,
tenaciously hold in place as the plant grows with the sunlight and the nourishment of the soil.
It is so beautiful, green, and speaks to me of a contented life.

I have become somewhat like the water grasses.
I am happy.