Power and Light
[Updated! With Video!
And Exclamation Points!]
May 19, 2017
The Knoxville Gay Men's Chorus will be celebrating its 5th Anniversary with its Spring Concert on Saturday night, May 20. In amongst songs made famous by Simon and Garfunkel, Madonna, Cindy Lauper, and the Pointer Sisters, the concert will include the premiere of a new piece composed by Dave Volpe: "Power and Light". In 2014, Dave was the composer of "Nebula of Angels", which was commissioned and premiered in Walt Disney Concert Hall as part of the 35th Anniversary concert of the Los Angeles Gay Mens' Chorus.
This fool provided the text for "Nebula of Angels," and when Dave Volpe received the Knoxville commission he graciously requisitioned another pile of words, in a celebratory/anthemic vein, and it was this fool's pleasure to oblige. I have yet to hear a note of the music Dave hath wrought this time, and I will not be in Knoxville when the final product is rolled out, but here, for whatever delectation they may provide in the absence of Dave's music, are those words as I compiled and piled them.
~~~
POWER AND LIGHT
Out of our watery refuge
And into the unsettled air
The earth and the fire await us
In their time
Adrift in the wake of that secretive sea
An inner spark lights the fuse for flight
Striking a match, the heart is still grounded
Stoking our personal flame
and generating
Power and Light
Power and Light
The club and the fist are no match for the bliss of
Power and Light
We are sowing Power and Light
Power and Light
Power and Light
The lift and the laughter lasting hereafter
Power and Light
Warm and glowing Power and Light
Under the star-shadowed nightfall
And into each uncertain day
The labyrinth lies before us
Every time
At risk in a mist amid pitfalls and traps
Our inner spark lights the fuse for flight
Passion and voice, as beams in that darkness
Arcing like coals to the torch
and resonating
Power and Light
Power and Light
The leap from the shoot to the trunk to the fruit
Power and Light
We are sowing Power and Light
Power and Light
Power and Light
Exploring, divining the glory that’s shining
Power and Light
We are showing Power and Light
Our lives will not be silent
We will never shun the fight
For hearts and hopes and love and freedom
Standing striding echoing on
Tracing, replacing all that is gone
More than before reaching up and beyond
Renewing the world with the force of a song
Refilling the world with
Power and Light
Power and Light
Power and Light
The club and the fist are no match for the bliss of
Power and Light
Warm and glowing Power and Light
Power and Light
Power and Light
The lift and the laughter lasting hereafter
Power and Light
We are sowing Power and Light
~~~
© 2016-2017 George M. Wallace; all rights reserved.
Photo by the blogger.
~~~
Update - May 23, 2017:
A good soul in Knoxville has uploaded video of the premiere performance. Behold!