‘Stars Above, Earth Below’ (2019)
For SATB choir
Approx. Duration: 4’
Written for the BBC Singers
A setting of ‘Leaves’ by Sara Teasdale
LEAVES
ONE by one, like leaves from a tree,
All my faiths have forsaken me;
But the stars above my head
Burn in white and delicate red,
And beneath my feet the earth
Brings the sturdy grass to birth.
I who was content to be
But a silken-singing tree,
But a rustle of delight
In the wistful heart of night,
I have lost the leaves that knew
Touch of rain and weight of dew.
Blinded by a leafy crown
I looked neither up nor down—
But the little leaves that die
Have left me room to see the sky;
Now for the first time I know
Stars above and earth below.
- Sara Teasdale
©Cover Image: 'Stars Above' Painting by Grace-Evangeline Mason 2019