the breath of life (Dan Forrest) - Live - Meistersingers of Mississippi

The Meistersingers of Mississippi (Dr. Joseph Wilkinson, conducting) perform Dan Forrest's "the breath of life" live, with the composer at the piano, as part of FestivalSouth, June 2021, in memorial of the events of 2020 including the COVID-19 pandemic as well as victims of racial injustice.

More information on the breath of life: https://www.danforrest.com/thebreathoflife

Meistersingers: https://www.meistersingersofms.com/

the breath of life is Dan Forrest's evocative reflection on the beauty and joy of new life juxtaposed with the pain of loss. Using choir, strings, piano, solo cello, percussion, organ, and electronics, Forrest creates a rich and poignant soundscape intertwining with profound and compelling texts from Scripture as well as classic and modern poetry. The emotional arc of the music beautifully mirrors that of life, from the miracle of birth to the bereavement of death, and the love that makes life rich and meaningful.

Vocal score and full score for purchase, and instrumental scores/parts for rent, published by The Music of Dan Forrest (distributed by Beckenhorst Press). http://www.beckenhorstpress.com/thebreathoflife

Audio recording available for purchase on iTunes, or for streaming on Apple Music, Spotify, et al.
https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-...
https://open.spotify.com/album/4teUN6...

the breath of life

1. et Deus inspiravit… (and God breathed…) (from Genesis 2:7, Vulgate)
Et Deus inspiravit in faciem eius spiraculum vitae;
et factus est homo in animam viventem.
(and God breathed into him the breath of life;
and man became a living soul.)

2. first breath last breath (Antler, 2006)
When a baby boy is born
and the midwife
holds him up
as he takes
his first breath,
Place him over
the Mother’s face
so when the baby exhales
his first breath on Earth
the Mother breathes it.

And when the Mother dies,
her middle-aged son
the baby grew up to be —
by her side,
his head next to her head —
Follows her breathing with his breath
as it becomes shorter,
and as the dying Mother
exhales her last breath
her son inhales it.

3. the silent kiss (from A Man Young and Old, William Butler Yeats, 1928)
In the long echoing street the laughing dancers throng,
The bride is carried to the bridegroom's chamber
through torchlight and tumultuous song;
I celebrate the silent kiss that ends short life or long.
Never to have lived is best, ancient writers say;
Never to have drawn the breath of life,
never to have looked into the eye of day;
The second best's a soft goodnight and quickly turn away.

epilogue: time is (Henry Van Dyke, 1904)
Time is
Too Slow for those who Wait,
Too Swift for those who Fear,
Too Long for those who Grieve,
Too Short for those who Rejoice;
But for those who Love...
...Time is not.
Dan Forrest https://www.danforrest.com has been described as having "an undoubted gift for writing beautiful music...that is truly magical" (NY Concert Review), with works hailed as "magnificent, cleverly constructed sound sculpture" (Classical Voice), and "superb writing...full of spine-tingling moments" (Salt Lake Tribune). In the last decade, Dan's music has become well established in the repertoire of choirs both in the U.S. and abroad, through both smaller works and his major works Requiem For the Living (2013), Jubilate Deo (2016), and LUX: The Dawn from On High (2018). Dan holds graduate degrees in composition and piano performance, and is active as a composer, educator, publisher, editor, and pianist.

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