The Music of Elizabeth Alexander

Works about Death

Title

Poet/Lyricist

Voicing/Instrumentation

Level

Be Grateful, My Soul
A passionate testament to life’s worth, even when facing adversity and oppression
Poet/Lyricist: Norbert Čapek
  • SSAA a cappella OR 5-part canon
Level: M
Folks, I’m Telling You
A driving, blues-inflected riff on hard truth and deep love
Poet/Lyricist: Langston Hughes
  • SSATB, piano
Level: MA
Like a Leaf
A rhapsodic setting of Wendell Berry's wise, simple words
Poet/Lyricist: Wendell Berry
  • SATB, piano
Level: M
Nature Creature (CD/mp3)
Songs on being alive in this beautiful, complex world
Poet/Lyricist: Lyon, Ignatow, Moore, Ammons, Erdrich, White, Hafiz / Ladinsky
  • Voice, cello, piano
Level: Various
Nature Creature (musical score)
A passionate, eclectic song cycle on the beauty and complexity of being alive
Poet/Lyricist: Lyon, Ignatow, Moore, Ammons, Erdrich, White, Hafiz / Ladinsky
  • Low voice, piano, opt. cello
Level: MA
On the Edge of the Water
An allegory on life’s beauty, transience, and everlasting nature
Poet/Lyricist: Elizabeth Alexander
  • Low voice, piano
Level: M
We Remember Them
A tender embrace of those we have loved and lost
Poet/Lyricist: Rabbis Sylvan Kamens / Jack Riemer
  • SATB, piano
Level: M
Y Comienzo a Bailar (“And I Begin To Dance”)
An intimate portrait of the bittersweet experience of memory, loss, and love
Poet/Lyricist: Elizabeth Alexander / Augustin Cadena
  • SATB, piano
Level: MA
You were meant for this
A fierce and vibrant farewell to a dying friend
Poet/Lyricist: Teresa Schreiber Werth
  • SSAA a cappella
Level: MA