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Read a letter to Gwyneth Walker by Angela Crosby, regarding the interpretation of I Will Be Earth
Read a letter to Gwyneth Walker by Ginny Kerwin, regarding the choice of May Swenson's poetry
Read observations on I Will Be Earth (1993) for SSA chorus, SATB chorus, or solo voice and piano
Listen to a RealAudio (G2) stream of I Will Be Earth for SATB chorus and piano performed by the ACDA Eastern Division High School Honors Choir, Jerry Blackstone, conductor.
Listen to a RealAudio (G2) stream of I Will Be Earth for SATB chorus and piano performed by the Middletown Chorale, Larry Allen, conductor.
Download an a MP3 file of this work (SATB and piano) performed by the ACDA Eastern Division High School Honors Choir, Jerry Blackstone, conductor.
(a CD recording is available from Sounding Joy!)
Download an MP3 file of this work (SATB and orchestra) performed by the Hamburg High School Concert Chorale and members of the Buffalo Philharmonic, Norman Zogaib, conductor.
Download an a MP3 file of the TTBB and piano version of this work performed by the River City Men's Chorus, David Glaze, conductor/piano.
Download a PDF file of the May Swenson poetry used in the original choral cycle Songs for Women's Voices as text for printing in concert programs.
Download a PDF file of the choral score (SATB version) of this composition. For perusal only -- not printable.
I Will Be Earth is a musical setting of a love poem by American poet May Swenson. The musical setting is intended to present the poem in a simple and straightforward manner which seeks to portray the beauty, humor, and passion of the words.
May Swenson (poet) was born in Logan, Utah in 1913. She died in Ocean View, Delaware in 1989. In her lifetime, she worked mainly as a poet, publishing over 450 poems. Much of her life was spent in Greenwich Village, New York City, where she was a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.
Notes by the composer