Where The Moon Goes

Where The Moon Goes is a piece written for choir, cello, and harp and was premiered this past spring by the Laudate Singers, Rebecca Wenham (cello), and Heidi Krutzen (harp). The music was written by myself and the text is based off of a poem by Genevieve MacKay entitled, A Childish Fear.

Genevieve’s poem appealed to me because I felt that it really captured something that I hunger to have in my composed music. For that, I am very grateful she consented to this collaboration. In her own words:

One of the things I remember most distinctly about being a child is the sense I had of wonder and possibility. When you’re constantly finding out new things about the world and how it works, it’s no stretch to believe, on waking in the middle of the night, that the giant glowing object on your bedroom floor is the moon, coming for an unexpected visit.

My favourite concert experiences are the ones where I felt like the sky was the limit and the roof of the hall was going to blow open at any moment to accommodate. I think this may be the reason for my attraction to setting nursery rhymes and comedic texts to music. The sense of wonder that Genevieve alludes to is something that stands in direct opposition to jadedness and that’s something I’d like to have not just in my music, but in my life in general.

A Childish Fear, by Genevieve MacKay

Last night, the moon
fell through my window.
I don’t know why. It’s not
supposed to do that.

It glowed so bright,
there at the end of my
bed. I was afraid until
I fell asleep.

I thought it meant
something bad, but
when I woke up this
morning the moon
was gone,

and someone
had left me
a big, white
balloon.