The Music of Elizabeth Alexander

Works about Birds and Beasts

Title

Poet/Lyricist

Voicing/Instrumentation

Level

Caterpillars Crawl
A lighthearted look at the daunting act of “going out on a limb”
Poet/Lyricist: Elizabeth Alexander
  • SA, piano
Level: ME
Climb
A rapturous call to freedom and risk
Poet/Lyricist: Edna St. Vincent Millay
  • SSATB, piano
Level: MA
Dragon Dance
A lighthearted partner song about a Chinese dragon’s diverse, collaborative feet
Poet/Lyricist: Elizabeth Alexander
  • SA, piano
Level: ME
Faith is the bird that feels the light
A sweet and soulful affirmation on darkness, light and faith
Poet/Lyricist: Rabindranath Tagore
  • SSA a cappella
  • SATB a cappella
Level: M
Like a Leaf
A rhapsodic setting of Wendell Berry's wise, simple words
Poet/Lyricist: Wendell Berry
  • SATB, piano
Level: M
My Aunt Gives Me a Clarinet Lesson
An over-the-top musical fantasy for all ages
Poet/Lyricist: Gregory Djanikian
  • High voice, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion
Level: A
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
Same Birds
A sassy frolic about deep listening, the cry of existence, and a congregation of rowdy birds
Poet/Lyricist: David Allan Evans
  • SATB a cappella
Level: MA
Sketches in Gray
Whimsical portraits of the dusky, steely, foggy, shadowy, and furry
  • Piano solo
Level: ME
Spring Revels
Three spring songs full of vitality, generosity, and love
Poet/Lyricist: Langston Hughes, e. e. cummings, Carl Sandburg
  • SATB a cappella
Level: MA
The Gospel Isn’t Written In the Bible Alone
An expansive embrace of the sacredness of all creation
Poet/Lyricist: Elizabeth Alexander
  • Low voice, piano
  • Medium / high voice, piano
Level: M
The Meadow Doesn’t Know About the Stock Market
A sweet and wry tribute to the meadow’s timeless wisdom
Poet/Lyricist: George Ella Lyon
  • Low voice, piano
Level: M
when faces called flowers float out of the ground
A whimsical and amorous song of spring
Poet/Lyricist: E. E. Cummings
  • SATB a cappella
Level: MA