God Be In My Head
for women’s or mixed chorus and keyboard (1995)
American Composers Alliance, 3 minutes
“And the closing, starting with a knell of finger cymbals, is perfect…” (IAWM Journal)
God Be In My Head is a quiet, prayerful piece that can be sung either by women’s or mixed chorus accompanied by either piano or organ. Finger cymbals are required at the opening of the piece. Based on the beautiful prayer from the Sarum Rite, the music is quiet and meditative. The intervals used consist almost entirely of perfect fifths.
The piece is a choral arrangement of the final prayer in the composer’s monodrama on Joan of Arc, Herstory III. The Hampshire Chorus conducted by Ann Kearns premiered the music in Amherst, Massachusetts and in New York City.
Text
God be in my head,
And in my understanding;
God be in my eyes,
And in my looking;
God be in my mouth,
And in my speaking;
God be in my heart,
And in my thinking;
God be at my end,
And at my departing.
–Sarum Primer (1558)