for SSAA chorus, soloists, and percussion

composite text

CME In High Voice Series
Boosey & Hawkes, 9790051484515

listen (excerpt)

Beati qui esuriunt (Blessed are those who hunger) features an introduction and coda inspired by medieval chant. In the energetic, rhythmically driven middle section, soloists sing antiphonally over a choral ostinato, illustrating the hungers and longings that arises from within and across a community. The text draws upon Matthew 5:6 (Latin Vulgate) and composite verses from Midwest Hunger Is, a community anthology of prose and poetry published by The Writing Center at Michigan State University.

Commissioned by the Community Composing Project for The Writing Center in the College of Arts & Letters at Michigan State University for Sistrum—Lansing Women's Chorus, Meredith Bowen, conductor. Supported in part by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts.