Rising – Berko, Lincoln
Alex Berko – Lincoln
Sunrise, Tuesday April 28
How do we answer yesterday’s Rising w/? Its declarations ring in our ear.
You can do much to lessen the danger to yourself.
We answer with a work about Truth.
It’s all about Truth.
The Sun is with us. (Good morning.)
If only we could thank it for what it brings us daily.
Alex Berko’s Lincoln demands we focus on the longevity of Truth, steadfast friend of Democracy, patient partner to humanity, lifeline to the desperate,
their conflict healed
by the truth
that marches on
We love to sing it because, after we defiantly acclaim “the truth that marches on,” Alex takes us to a place we recognize and desire: the quiet place of contemplation and study, the melancholy place, where the real work gets done in the minds of deep thinkers. Thinkers who care profoundly about The Other. Thinkers who sacrifice their privacy, time – sometimes, their lives – to make the world a better place.
Lincoln.
whose lonely soul
God kindled
In the Lincoln Bay at Washington National Cathedral stands a statue of the President, consecrated on the day of his birth in 1948 with a Dedication Tablet. We thought the words on that tablet speak to our day. We thought they would make a good piece of music. We thought Alex Berko would be the right composer to tackle them.
We think we were right.
Lonely Souls, we.
a people
We seek Truth.
Together.
We demand it.
We.
–The Whole Team @ The Crossing
Lincoln
music by Alex Berko
words by The Very Rev. Francis Bowes Sayre Jr., Dean, Washington National Cathedral (1953-1977)
recorded live in concert at The Month of Moderns 2018
June 9, 2018 at The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill
audio by Paul Vazquez of Digital Mission Audio Services
Lincoln was commissioned by The Cathedral Choral Society and Donald Nally and premiered Sunday, March 4, 2018, at the Washington National Cathedral
* * *
Alex writes:
"Lincoln is a reflection on the power of the individual. It explores the idea that change is not linear but gradual, and infused with an extreme amount of personal courage. This non-linear nature of change is embedded into the structure of the composition, for the setting of the text was crafted in a way that would reflect the overall affect of the poetry itself. Through the reiteration of each line of text, it is almost as though the repetition empowers the individual to continue on to the next line. It isn’t until the very end that the entire poem is recited in its purest form, ending the composition on a feeling of unity and togetherness."
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
WHOSE LONELY SOUL
GOD KINDLED
IS HERE REMEMBERED
BY A PEOPLE
THEIR CONFLICT HEALED
BY THE TRUTH
THAT MARCHES ON.