Celtic Blessing

Songs for the Journey was originally commissioned to be a companion piece to the Fauré Requiem. I have long admired this work for its personal tone, and for the way in which Fauré emphasized the beauty and intimacy of the traditional Latin texts. In assembling the movements of Songs for the Journey, I chose texts with uniquely personal stories and connections. More Love, a song I had written for my wife when we were expecting our first child, became the cornerstone movement. Together, the five movements explore similar themes as the traditional requiem—love, faith, and mortality—but in a non-liturgical framework, with poems and texts drawn from a variety of sources.

May the road rise up to meet you,
may the wind be ever at your back,
may the sun shine warm upon your face,
and the rain fall soft upon your fields;
and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of his hand.