"I Have Called You" from Songs to the Lord of Peace (2006) - Music by Gwyneth Walker (b. 1947)

"I Have Called You" from Songs to the Lord of Peace (2006) - Music by Gwyneth Walker (b. 1947); Poetry by Thomas Merton (1915-1968)
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from The Big Picture UChoir Concert
March 3, 2024
Harvard University Choir
Edward Elwyn Jones, conductor
David von Behren, piano
Harvard Memorial Church
Cambridge, Massachusetts
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Note by the composer:
The texts for these four songs are taken from a series of Freedom Songs which Thomas Merton wrote in 1966.
These poems were created in response to a special request in connection with the Christian non-violent movement for Civil Rights. Thus, faith, equality and peace are the unifying themes in the songs.
The ordering of the texts and the creation of the musical settings have been formed with the intent of presenting a growth in the intensity of the message. From the quiet Evening Prayer to the powerful There is a Way, the songs span a variety of imagery and musical language. The prayer, the voice of faith and the affirmation of equality grow ever more insistent.
Images central to the various songs are:
Evening Prayer — the prayer rising “sweet as incense smoke”
I Have Called You — forceful, the voice of the Lord speaking “I have called you by your name. You belong to me.”
Be my Defender — growth in intensity from the quiet supplication “Lord, be my Defender” to the dramatic “Kneel and tremble in the night”
There is a Way - a triumphant march to glory!
Lines from the poem There is a Way encompass the inspiration behind the entire set of Songs to the Lord of Peace.
There is a way to glory.
Love is this way to glory.
Riding on to Sion where the Lord of Peace rules in glory.
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2. I Have Called You
Do not be afraid
O my people
Do not be afraid
Says the Lord:
I have called you
By your name
I am your Redeemer
You belong to me.
When you cross the river
I am there
I am with you
When your street
’s on fire
Do not be afraid
O my people
You belong to me.
Bring my sons from afar
Says the Savior
Bring them from that dark country
Bring them glad and free
Says the Lord
They belong to me.
Bring my songs and daughters
From that far country
From their house of bondage
Set them free
Bring them back in glory
Home to me.
Do not be afraid
O my people
I Have called you by your name
You belong to me.