Sleep

Sleep
Eric Whitacre

The evening hangs beneath the moon,
A silver thread on darkened dune.
With closing eyes and resting head
I know that sleep is coming soon.

Upon my pillow, safe in bed,
A thousand pictures fill my head.
I cannot sleep my mind's aflight
And yet my limbs seem made of lead.

If there are noises in the night
A frightening shadow, flickering light,
Then I surrender unto sleep,
Where clouds of dream give second sight.

What dreams may come both dark and deep,
Of flying wings and soaring leap,
As I surrender unto sleep
As I surrender unto sleep
As I surrender unto sleep
Sleep.


A friend posted a link to this TED talk on facebook today. My dad had told me about it a few months ago, but I didn't realize until today that the conductor/composer he was talking about was Eric Whitacre. Watch the video. He is amazing. (Plus, as my father points out, he looks like a movie star.) And then go and watch the virtual choir singing "Sleep." I adore Whitacre's pieces. We sang a couple of them in choir and they were absolutely arresting. They are the kinds of songs that one must be intimate with as a singer. They wrap themselves around you. They tug at my soul, cause my heart to leap into my throat and tears to sting my eyes. They are profoundly beautiful works. If you are at all someone who enjoys choral music, please do yourself the favour of listening to some of his work. I cannot say enough good things about it