In conjunction with Cantate Domino the Curator held its first song-text competition. Our aim is to encourage new texts for composers to write new music for ensembles and churches to sing.

Congratulations to our contest winners: Marlene Brubaker, Lori Hershberger, and Richard Stoltzfoos!

Congratulations to Our Song-Text Winners

Marlene Brubacher: Shema Israel

שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָֽד

Love with your heart—and let your heart fly boldly.
Let not the Word made flesh revert to word,
But let the fire kindle, let this passion
Stir you to heights that only Love has stirred.

Love with your mind—and let His mindset mould you.
Love with the keenness of the Christ-like brain.
Love with the willingness to ponder longer,
And with the conscious choice to learn through pain.

Love with your strength—and let this mighty spirit
March on from strength to strength as years unroll
Until we see the King in all His glory,
To love Him heart to heart and soul to soul.

Lori Hershberger: Eternity In Our Hearts

As sure as the sun stirs the sap in the tree
As sure as the tide when the moon is new
As sure as the salmon journeys to sea
So our restless hearts are yearning for you

As sure as the winter gives way to the spring
As sure as the waves crash back to the shore
As sure as the geese in autumn take wing
So our roaming hearts hunt for home once more

As sure as Orion circles the skies
As sure as the pigeon homes to its nest
So heart calls to heart, so eternity cries,
So deep calls to deep, so we long for your rest.

Richard Stoltzfoos: I Cannot Comprehend

I cannot comprehend, Jesu,
How God and man are one, yet two,
How Thou, my God, art one, yet three,
And human will both bound and free.

I cannot understand, my Lord,
How sun stood still to watch the sword,
Nor how the dial reversed its tread,
Nor whence appeared the fish and bread.

And less I fathom, Holy Seed,
How I am saved by faith with deed,
Nor how Thy death hath made me free,
Least yet this truth, Thou lovest me.

Honorable Mentions

Christopher Good, Lori Hershberger, Julia D. Martin, Marilyn F. Martin, and Richard Stoltzfoos. You can see their texts on this page.

Three winning texts were chosen by the editors of the Curator, each receiving a $500 prize. Texts receiving honorable mentions were each awarded a $100 prize. Texts were judged on content and style such that they could work as a choral text. Texts could be metrical or free-verse and didn’t need to be explicitly religious.

Following the competition, Cantate Domino, an organization with a mission of encouraging and equipping emerging composers, will hold a competition where composers can submit tunes for the winning texts. These pieces will then be performed by the Cantate Domino Ensemble.