CHRISTMAS CARDS (1999)
chorus and piano, 6 min.

These three choral settings were written as holiday gifts for my mother, sister and brother. The texts are my own, drawing on personal Christmas observations. The first song, "Everything's All White," describes a gentle snowfall that softens the frantic mood of shopping and gift-wrapping. In "Eastern Road," my journey back home toward eastern North Carolina is depicted: the flattening of the landscape evokes a childhood memory of my father teaching me the names of constellations. The set ends with "Syllabub," my Great Aunt Ethel's recipe for a frothy holiday drink.