New Commission

About a week or so ago, a friend from BYU Singers approached me and proposed the idea of writing an art song for her possibly in time for her senior recital this April. I've always been a little hesitant to accept commissions simply because I don't really feel like I have the chops to write a piece with a deadline. This friend, however, is a fantastic singer and a wonderful musician, which is persuasion enough to consider writing something new for her. The real kicker I think was the text that she brought to me as a suggestion. Here they are:


"Lord, open thou mine eyes that I may see thee;
Lord, open thou my lips that I may praise thee;
Lord, open thou my heart that I may love thee,
Serve thee with joy, fear none above thee.

Christ be my sword and shield, my strong defender;
Christ be my light and my Redeemer.
Christ be my guide today, my guide tomorrow;
Christ in my days of joy, my days of sorrow;
Christ in the silent hours when I lie sleeping,
Safe in his holy angels’ keeping.

Christ, when I go to rest, grant me thy blessing.
Lord, keep my soul with thee now and for ever."

- Paraphrase of Lancelot Andrews and St. Patrick


It reminds me very much of ancient, Monastic, Irish poetry, which I always have an affinity towards. It seems to have some sort of luminescence about it that is simply electric. I went back to my apartment and, in about two days time, wrote out the "A" section. On Tuesday I showed her what I had written so far. After her approval, we agreed to the terms of a contract.

So I agreed to this commission. We agreed to have the deadline be February 27th of this year. I've never really worked with a deadline, but I'm pretty confident I can do this. I'm excited about what will come out of this.

A little tip to those of you interested in commissioning your own piece: Get someone else to pay for it. Commissions are more expensive that you think and paying out of your own pocket kinda puts a downer on the whole situation. The one thing you don't want to do is underpay the composer, because composers, monetarily, rely heavily on commissions. There are other options. You can get money from a city art council, some state art council, some local or regional organization with like-minded ideals, even the National Endowment for the Arts is possible. The easiest option is a wealthy relative, but that requires having a wealthy relative.

Anyway, it'll be premiered sometime this April. Speaking of recitals, I have my own to prepare for next week! Yikes!