Program Note:

William Blake (1757-1827) was an English poet and visual artist whose free verse predates Whitman and whose progressive beliefs about Church and state were controversial during his lifetime. Innocence and redemption (The Lamb), the shared divinity of people from diverse backgrounds (The Divine Image), the nature of innocence (Auguries of Innocence), and the journey through hopelessness that must be taken to get hope (Night). The settings, composed in Sandpoint, Idaho and completed on 4 June 1994, were published first by Lorenz, and then by Carl Fischer. They were written at the request of the dedicatee, Scott Foss, and first performed in the composer’s presence on 18 November 1997 by the Baylor University Concert Chorale.