The Music of Elizabeth Alexander

You were meant for this

A fierce and vibrant farewell to a dying friend

Music: Elizabeth Alexander

Words: Teresa Schreiber Werth

Teresa Schreiber Werth’s small poem, “Full Circle,” was written during a friend’s final days, ushering her into the next world with acceptance, vibrancy and love. This musical setting of Werth’s poem pulses with rhythm and breath, with canonic vocal lines suggesting the cycle of life. Taking its inspiration from the light described by those who have had near-death experiences, You were meant for this: concludes not on a somber note but instead with a bright outpouring of glorious, inevitable light.

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Text

Full Circle

From the Beginning
When you were just a bit of stardust,
You were meant for this:
A gentle crossing over
Unafraid,
Leaving behind,
Nothing.
A body
Fully spent
Within a
Soul.
Complete
And ready now
To soar.

Teresa Werth Schneider
© 2011 by Teresa Schreiber Werth

Performers

Performers

Premiere: MUSE, Cincinnati’s Women’s Choir / Catherine Roma. 30th Anniversary Concert (Cincinnati, OH)
Twin Cities Women’s Choir / Janice Hunton (St. Paul, MN)
Women’s Voices Chorus / Allan Friedman (Chapel Hill, NC)