Article: Developing the Text for a Choral Work

The First United Methodist Church of Pampa (Texas) commissioned me to compose a new choral work for their building dedication in 2012.  I worked with the Minister of Music, Suzanne Wood in developing a piece that fit the theme of the dedication and musical needs of the choir.  The resulting work was called "Living Stones" and was premiered on December 2, 2012.  

There are many factors to consider when working on a choral commission.  Vocal ranges of each section, abilities of the choir and other musicians involved, price, deadlines for first rehearsals, etc. are among those factors but today I'd like to talk about one of the most important steps of a choral commission, developing the text or lyrics.

Sometimes a text is already provided by the organization commissioning you or you may be fortunate enough to find a poem or text that will be accepted. You also have to consider copyrights when using someone else's poetry. I always enjoying reading through pages and pages of poetry to find a text. When reading through the poetry, I consider the meaning of the poem, the flow of the words, and length among other things.  It's not unusual for me though to find a poem that fits all my criteria and if it has one word in it that just doesn't seem singable, I'll continue my search for another text.

If you have to write your own lyric, usually the church has a general theme or scripture in mind. In the case of the FUMC of Pampa, who was commissioning the work for the dedication of a new building project, they chose 1 Peter 2:4-6.  The NIV version is: As you come to him, the living Stone rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."  

My first step in developing a lyric was to study the scripture in context and read it in other versions. It is important to research the scripture, read what other authors/ministers have to say about it in order to understand the scripture. I also searched for other musical compositions that were based on these scriptures. Next, I cross referenced the scriptures from other books of the Bible that might help me in developing the lyric.  I created a visual chart of this research to help me to see the whole picture.

I wanted to have rhyme so I used a rhyming dictionary online to help me develop various wordings. RhymeZone is an excellent tool because it offers rhymes in one or more syllables. There is also a synonym feature, definition feature, and a similar sound feature.

I then needed to decide what form I would use to write the lyric. After discussions with the music minister and also finding out what the church's minister wanted in style, I had a better idea of what direction to take. I have always been an admirer of the traditional hymns and how the hymn writers created their lyrics, especially how they reworded the scripture to maintain the meaning but allow rhyme and a form that could be used in musical form.  It can be quite a puzzle to create a lyric similar to the hymn writers of old.  The rhythm of the words, the lengths of the phrases, and the emphasis must fall in just the right places.  I had many versions written out before I could decide on the form of the music. I wanted a "chorus" section and this would include the text that really tells what the song's meaning should be. It would be the strongest and most memorable section of the work.  Therefore, it should be the most important text and should bear repetition. In the case of "Living Stones", I wanted the text to be a request to "lay this stone with our hearts and prayers" so that it will "fortify the wisdom of our home", and that the Lord will bless this activity by taking "our ordinary lives" and "make us a living stone" just as Jesus was a living stone. 

Finally, I developed a general form: Verses 1, 2, transition, Chorus, transition, Chorus, Coda.  The first two verses would require some trial and error because they would use basically the same melodic line even though it would be different words and that is not always easy to do. The first verse would be sung by the women and the second by the men so I had to make sure the meaning of the text would be meaningful if sung only by women or men. These initial verses would also tell the history of God choosing Jesus as the living stone.

After developing the overall lyric, I then tried different rhythms and meters. The church wanted an upbeat, majestic, perhaps even a fanfare type piece. The first draft was in 4/4 meter but after discussing it with the music minister who wanted a little more challenge for her choir, I played around with it in a 6/8 meter and was very pleased with how there were opportunities for some duple rhythms occasionally to create interest.  The 6/8 meter also allowed for a march-like or processional-type feel.  The most important thing to consider however is that the words flow in a rhythm that would be similar to the way a person would speak it.  Stresses needed to fall on appropriate syllables and if a word or syllable were to be sustained, it should be with a vowel that is easy for the choir to sing beautifully. Most choir directors are very good at getting their choir to use open vowels on difficult words but it's best if the composition can avoid awkward vowels.

Although this does not have as much bearing on the lyric writing process, I wanted to mention that the music minister requested a flute instrumental obbligato part be written.  Composing obbligato parts are one of my favorite things to do.  Whenever I know that I'll be adding an obbligato part, I try to plan out some areas in the choral part where the voices sustain as the obbligato "decorates" their chords.  I also plan out small groups of measures for the flute to play in between choral sections to give the voices rest and allow them to regroup.  Of course, the obbligato part should compliment the meaning of the lyrics.

I don't often describe my process for composing because I usually just "do it" so thank you for following my train of thought.  I hope it will be helpful to those of you who compose or perhaps it will inspire you to try your hand at it.  I had always avoided composing my own lyric in the past but just like anything else in life, you have to give it time and keep trying to get comfortable with it.

To read more about "Living Stones" and read the entire lyric, please visit this page:  Living Stones for SATB Chorus, Piano, and Flute Obbligato.