All the Way Home
Saturday, January 25, 2025
5:00 pm
Binkley Sanctuary
Dear Listener,
Thank you for coming!
Today we bring you music that explores the ideas of Home and Memories.
We celebrate the places we love, places we belong.
And we celebrate the family and friends who have helped create a sense of Home for us, and helped us grow into the people we are today.
We celebrate both those that continue our journeys with us and those we’ve had to bid farewell.
Our hearts are with those who have recently lost their homes to fires and storms and violence, whose sense of Home has been disrupted, and who fear losing their homes and having to separate from their families, friends, and communities in the coming times.
Thank you for sharing this evening with us.
Be Like the Bird
Words by Victor Hugo
Music by Abbie Betinis
Be like the bird that,
pausing in her flight awhile on boughs too slight,
feels them give way beneath her,
and sings
knowing she hath wings.
Fly Away Home
Words and Music by PINKZEBRA
I’ll ride with the horses,
I’ll swim through the sea.
I’ll climb to the mountain tops.
Won’t you come follow me?
I’ll take time to notice
all that I see.
And after I’ve come so far,
you know where I’ll be.
I’ll fly away home.
Well life is a vision.
That’s how it should be.
The world is a canvas.
And the choices are free.
At the end of the journey,
when all is complete,
they’ll all wonder where I’ve gone.
But you know where I’ll be.
I’ll fly away home.
Our dreams last forever,
for all that we know.
The roads come together.
And that’s where we’ll go.
We’ll fly away home.
In This Ancient House,
Momoshiki Ya
Anonymous Japanese poem
Music by Ruth Morris Gray
In this ancient house, paved with a hundred stones,
Momoshiki ya furuki nokiba no
Ferns grow in the eaves
Shinobu ni mo
But numerous as they are
Nao amari aru
My old memories are more.
Mukashi nari keri
We have imagined revisiting a house that we lived in long ago, finding it overgrown with moss and ferns, and revisiting the many memories that the house holds for us.
I Remember
Words and Music by Sarah Quartel
I remember days of sunshine, days of rain.
I remember knowing spring will come again,
And when I sing I remember all the wonder I have seen:
Waters reaching the horizon, waves that carry you and me.
I remember this, my friend.
I remember golden summers when corn is high.
I remember branches reaching to the sky,
And when I sing I remember all the harvests of the field,
Fruits of love that lie in waiting, all the bounty now revealed.
I remember this, my friend.
In my song there’s a race through a wild green meadow,
The sunshine so bright in my eyes.
In my song there’s a day by the cool of the water,
Knowing that you’re by my side again.
I remember all the loved ones I have known.
I remember all they taught me, how I’ve grown,
And when I sing I remember many lives that share my song,
Brought together in a moment, finding somewhere to belong.
And I remember you, my friend.
Winter Song
Words and Music by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson
Arr. Mac Huff
This is my winter song to you.
The storm is coming soon,
it rolls in from the sea.
My voice a beacon in the night.
My words will be your light,
to carry you to me.
Is love alive?
They say that things just cannot grow
beneath the winter snow,
or so I have been told.
They say we’re buried far,
just like a distant star,
I simply cannot hold.
Is love alive?
This is my winter song.
December never felt so wrong,
’cause you’re not where you belong:
inside my arms.
I still believe in summer days.
The seasons always change
and life will find a way.
I’ll be your harvester of light
and send it out tonight
so we can start again.
Is love alive?
Hope Lingers On
Words and Music by Lissa Schneckenburger
Arr. Andrea Ramsey
My mother, when love is gone,
In our darkest hour hope lingers on.
My father, when peace is gone,
In our darkest hour hope lingers on.
I will not hate, and I will not fear,
In our darkest hour hope lingers here.
My sister, when equality’s gone,
In our darkest hour hope lingers on.
My brother, with tolerance gone,
In our darkest hour hope lingers on.
I will not hate, and I will not fear,
In our darkest hour hope lingers here.
My love, when honor is gone,
In our darkest hour hope lingers on.
My country, when justice is gone,
In our darkest hour hope lingers on.
I will not hate, and I will not fear,
In our darkest hour hope lingers here.
Vichten
Words by Arthur Arsenault
Music by Angèle Arsenault
Arranged by Hart Rouge
From the editor:
The Acadians are a vibrant and distinct French culture in the Canadian mosaic, descended from settlers mainly from Northern France who first arrived in 1604 to the area known today as southwest Nova Scotia. After building communities throughout Canada’s east coast provinces, the Acadians were expulsed from their lands by the British colonial authorities from 1755 ot 1763, and their homes and crops burned. Over 10,000 Acadians were deported to various parts of the world, some of whom settled in Louisiana where, over time, the word ‘Acadian’ – as spoken in the Acadian patois – was understood by English language speakers as ‘Cajun.’ Today, Acadian culture is thriving, and music is a huge part of everyday life. It is not uncommon for everyone in a traditional Acadian family to sing and play an instrument!
Many people in Canada mistake “Vichten” as a traditional Acadian folk song. It is not. It is a newly composed folk song that was written by Arthur Arsenault for his children and made popular by his daughter Angèle Arsenault. Angèle … recorded and performed “Vichten” throughout her long career as an Acadian folk singer and TV host.
The words of “Vichten” are made up of nonsense syllables, similar to Scottish “mouth music” where the voices are intended to mimic instruments.
All the Pretty Little Horses
from Four American Folk Songs
by Frank Ferko
Hushabye, don’t you cry, go to sleep, my little baby.
When you wake you shall have all the pretty little horses.
Blacks and grays, dapples and bays, coach and six-a little horses.
Hushabye, don’t you cry, go to sleep, my little baby.
Hushabye, don’t you cry, go to sleep, my little baby.
Way down yonder in the meadow, poor little baby crying, “momma.”
Birds and butterflies fluttering ’round his eyes,
poor little baby crying, “momma.”
Hushabye, don’t you cry, go to sleep, my little baby.
As you sing
Words and Music by Sarah Quartel
Your voice is like the breath of spring when first it wakes the flowers.
I blossom brightly as you sing, and flourish by your side.
And in your singing I am found.
Your voice is like a cherry tree in playful bloom beside me.
I dance and flutter as you sing, and shine when you are near.
And in your singing I am found.
Your voice is like an ancient oak that stands in gentle strength.
My roots run deeper as you sing.
And in your singing I am found.
Come again
John Dowland
Come again, sweet love doth now invite
thy graces that refrain to do me due delight,
to see, to hear, to touch, to kiss, to die
with thee again in sweetest sympathy.
Come again, that I may cease to mourn,
through thy unkind distain,
for now left and forlorn
I sit, I sigh, I weep, I faint, I die
in deadly pain and endless misery.
Kaleidoscope Heart
Words and Music by Sarah Bareilles
Arr. Allison Girvan
All the colors of the rainbow
hidden ‘neath my skin.
Hearts have colors don’t we all know.
Red runs through our veins.
Feel the fire burnin’ up.
Inspire me with blood of blue and green.
I have hope.
Inside is not a heart
but a kaleidoscope.
Yesterday
Words and Music by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Arr. Tom Gentry
Yesterday,
all my troubles seemed so far away
now it looks as though they’re here to stay;
oh, I believe in yesterday.
Suddenly,
I’m not half the one I used to be;
there’s a shadow hanging over me;
oh, yesterday came suddenly.
Why she had to go I don’t know,
she wouldn’t say.
I said something wrong,
now I long for yesterday.
Yesterday,
love was such an easy game to play;
now I need a place to hide away;
oh, I believe in yesterday.
Kira! (Count!)
Words and Music by Tracy Wong
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
Prepare your umbrella before it rains!
Your struggles now will pay off in the future!
Work hard for what you want. Round things don’t roll by themselves, flat and thin things don’t fly by themselves.
From the composer:
This playful composition for 3-part treble choir and percussion is a nod to Malay folk songs that merge counting/play (common in some childhood games) and sage advice. It also celebrates elders in my larger Malaysian community who impart life teachings to young people in a fun and accessible way. I am drawn to this tradition for its beauty in having music as a form of intergenerational community building.
Wanting Memories
Words and Music by Y—saÿe M. Barnwell
I am sitting here wanting memories to teach me
To see the beauty of the world through my own eyes.
You used to rock me in the cradle of your arms,
You said you’d hold me till the pains of life were gone.
You said you’d comfort me in times like these and now I need you,
And now I need you, and you are gone.
And I am sitting here wanting memories to teach me
To see the beauty of the world through my own eyes.
I thought that you were gone, but now I know you’re with me;
you are the voice that whispers all I need to hear.
I know a “please,” a “thank you,” and a smile will take me far,
I know that I am you and you are me and we are one,
I know that who I am is numbered in each grain of sand,
I know that I’ve been blessed again and over again.
All the way home
Text written and inspired by members of the Radcliffe Ladies’ Choir as they reflected on their motto, “friendship through singing”
Piece by Sarah Quartel
Sing to me comfort, sing to me home,
sing to me friendships I have known.
Sing me a place where I belong,
joyful, with harmonies sing me
all the way home with a song in my heart.
All the way home
brighten my path and carry me on,
all the way home.
There’s a beautiful pow’r in what we bring,
there’s strength in the glorious song we sing.
Easing all troubles, calming all fears,
joyful, with harmonies sing me
all the way home with a song in my heart.
All the way home
brighten my path and carry me on,
all the way home.
Evening brings a shining star,
her ancient anthems from afar.
Silence below, her song in the sky.
Joyful with harmonies sing me
all the way home with a song in my heart.
All the way home
brighten my path and carry me on,
all the way home.
Shenandoah
United States Folk Song
arranged for Sisters’ Voices by Leandra and Sisters’ Voices singers over the years
O Shenandoah, I long to see you,
Away, you rolling river.
O Shenandoah, I long to see you,
Away, I’m bound away, cross the wide Missouri.
I long to see your smiling valley
And hear your rolling river.
I long to see your smiling valley,
Away, I’m bound away, cross the wide Missouri.
O Shenandoah, I love your daughter!
Away, you rolling river.
O Shenandoah, I love your daughter!
Away, I’m bound away, cross the wide Missouri.
‘Tis seven long years since last I’ve seen you,
Away, you rolling river.
‘Tis seven long years since last I’ve seen you,
Away, I’m bound away, cross the wide Missouri.
Shenandoah is a beautiful folk song that we return to over and over because it is so satisfying to sing. The singers adore it because of the melody as well as the simple and progressively difficult harmony. As is the case with much of the music on this program, Shenandoah is a song of memory and longing, of connection to a place and of belonging in that place.