At the top of this website is a picture of a calla lily. Lilies are my favorite type of flowers, and they have a great deal of spiritual significance to me. One could go on forever about lilies in scriptures, music, poetry, and art. Here are a few examples.
I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.
2 As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.
Song of Solomon 2:1-2
27 Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Luke 12:27
Below is a youtube video of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing “Consider the Lilies” by Roger Hoffman, along with the text.
May Oliver’s poem “Lilies” touches on this scripture:
But if I were a lily
I think I would wait all day
for the green face
of the hummingbird
to touch me.
What I mean is,
could I forget myself
The calla lily is a symbol of funerals, because of its relationship to the Winter solstice, and weddings, because it is a symbol of purity. The lily of the valley is a symbol ofhumility in religious painting. Here it is in a triptych at The Cloisters, a museum of Christian art.
I believe that church music does not have to be difficult to be effective. Many of my compositions are written for churches that have limited resources. Below are two free choir anthems based on hymn tunes by famous composers.
"How Wondrous and Great" SATB with piano or organ. Based on the hymn tyne LYONS attributed to Joseph Michael Haydn.
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October, 2007