May This Day Announce Itself

Story Behind the Piece

In May This Day Announce Itself, I think of the poem as an invocation: a proclamation that the day might begin with a kind of radiance. Lawrence Schug gives us just a handful of words, but they feel expansive to me, full of gold and lift — “gilded trumpets,” “aurous light,” and “the wings of white swans rising in flight.”

Musical Qualities

Musically, I wanted the choir to announce rather than simply sing. The opening asks the voices to take on a brass-like character, as if the ensemble were sounding trumpets — an unusual color for unaccompanied voices — but it felt true to the image.

As you listen, you may notice how often the lines move upward. That rising motion is intentional: for me, the piece is about uplifting; an intention to ascend.

Though the length is only a minute and a half, I hope listeners hear a clear arc from proclamation to grace. It can work especially well as a concert opener or as the first piece after an intermission, when a room is ready to be gathered and lifted by something radiant, bright, and energizing.