THIS ALIEN LANDSCAPE

SATB, percussion (crotales, suspended cymbal, surdo or floor tom)
Composed for the Eastview High School Concert Choir for their performance at the NC-ACDA Conference, March 20, 2014, Gregory Douma, director

Secular

Choral score


Text:

Behold, from the land of the farther suns
I returned.
And I was in a reptile-swarming place,
Peopled, otherwise, with grimaces,
Shrouded above in black impenetrableness.
I shrank, loathing,
Sick with it.
And I said to him,
“What is this?”
He made answer slowly,
“Spirit, this is a world;
This was your home.”

- Stephen Crane