The Music of Elizabeth Alexander

Works about Food

Title

Poet/Lyricist

Voicing/Instrumentation

Level

Before the Bread
A gracious canon setting of a traditional English blessing
Poet/Lyricist: English folk prayer
  • 2 or 4 part treble choir a cappella
  • SATB a cappella
  • Community / Congregational Song
Level: ME
No Ordinary Song
A solo or congregational song for healing our wounded world
Poet/Lyricist: Elizabeth Alexander
  • Community / Congregational Song
  • Medium voice, piano
Level: ME
Only a Couple Fishes
An animated retelling of the “loaves and fishes” story, with generosity at its core
Poet/Lyricist: Elizabeth Alexander
  • SA, piano
Level: ME
Song of the Five Thousand
A canonic table grace with abundance, gratitude and generosity at its core
Poet/Lyricist: Elizabeth Alexander
  • Flexible choral voicing
  • Community / Congregational Song
Level: E
Sue Loves Butter
An exuberant toast to friendship, fun, and everybody’s favorite comfort food
Poet/Lyricist: Elizabeth Alexander
  • SSA, piano
Level: M
Trouble in a Minnesota Town
A town’s wild descent into madness — and mangoes!
Poet/Lyricist: Neal Bowers
  • Medium voice, piano
  • High voice, piano
Level: MA
We Lift Up Our Hearts
An intergenerational song of thanksgiving appropriate for religious or secular occasions
Poet/Lyricist: Richard Fewkes
  • SATB + children’s choir, piano
Level: E
Why I Pity the Woman Who Never Spills
A gutsy, sensual song in praise of messy women
Poet/Lyricist: Joan Wolf Prefontaine
  • SSAA a cappella
Level: MA
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