"My Heart Be Brave" - Marques L. A. Garrett

Our first Choral Tapas highlight is "My Heart Be Brave" by Marques L. A. Garrett, setting the poetry of James Weldon Johnson.

My heart be brave, and do not falter so,
Nor utter more that deep, despairing wail.
Thy way is very dark and drear I know,
But do not let thy strength and courage fail;
For certain as the raven-winged night
Is followed by the bright and blushing morn,
Thy coming morrow will be clear and bright;
’Tis darkest when the night is furthest worn.
Look up, and out, beyond, surrounding clouds,
And do not in thine own gross darkness grope,
Rise up, and casting off thy hind’ring shrouds,
Cling thou to this, and ever inspiring hope:
Tho’ thick the battle and tho’ fierce the fight,

There is a power [in] making for the right.

“Sonnet” by James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938)

Watch our full February Choral Tapas concert at    • Choral Tapas: Bite-Size Concerts (Feb...  .

Audio engineering: Jacob Buys
Video editing: Wes Kim