Opus 1089
The Guest House (2014)
for SATB Chorus and Organ
Text by Rumi (trans. Coleman Barks) and the Bible (Matthew 25:35c, 40)
Harvard University Choir; Edward Elwyn Jones, conductor
Duration: 3.5 min.
Dedication: for the installation of the Rev. Lucy A. Forster-Smith, The Memorial Church, Harvard University, October 12, 2014
Commission: Commissioned by The Memorial Church, Harvard University
Publisher: Zimbel Press/Subito Music Corp.
Performance materials available from the publisher.
The Guest House (2014) for SATB choir and organ was commissioned by The Memorial Church at Harvard University for the installation of the Rev. Lucy A. Forster-Smith as Senior Minister. The text combines the opening and closing stanzas of Rumi’s poem “The Guest House” (a particular favorite of the dedicatee) with verses from the Bible.
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
for each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
“For I was a stranger and you invited me in. Truly, I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of my brothers and sisters, you did for me.”