Be Still

Be Still for a cappella choir was composed for Coventry Choir and Director of Music James Walker, All Saints Church, Pasadena. This piece premiered at a Lenten evensong Eucharist in 2013. The service consisted of silence and music only. The entire text is “Be still and know that I am God,” from Psalm 46.10, and was designed for meditative contemplation. The challenge was to create a five-minute piece out of only eight words. The choir is frequently divided into eight parts to create shimmering textures. The piece is dedicated to the memory of my friend Stuart Coxhead, a great lover of choral music and a priest on the staff at All Saints Church.

The European premiere of Be Still took place November 2, 2013, by Haga Motettkör, under the direction of Ulrike Heider, in Gothenburg, Sweden. The Antioch Ensemble sang the New York premiere at Holy Trinity Church, New York City on February 28, 2016. The Crossing recorded the piece for the 2019 Navona album Evolutionary Spirits.

Видео Be Still канала Bruce Babcock