Truth am ong the
Composer’s Notes
The Tang Dynasty is considered the “golden age of Chinese poetry,” and it was an important part of life for all social classes during this period A common theme in Tang poetry is pilgrimage, and the Chinese phrase for this translates to “paying one ’ s respect to a mountain.” The spiritual journey of the pilgrimage is always far more important than the destination Liu Changqing, a voice of the Middle Tang period, helped develop Landscape Style poetry (⼭⽔诗), which makes a focal point of the landscape itself, rather than a human presence there To me, this poem is about finding beauty and meaning in the world outside of oneself
Written language in the Far East, unlike the West, is based on characters that represent ideas rather than individual words, and can be translated or interpreted into Western languages in a number of different ways I found this translation on display at the Denver Botanic Gardens.
While Visiting on the South Stream The Taoist Priest Chang (尋南溪常⼭道⼈隱居)
⾔禪⾊莓。 Walking along a narrow path, 草花經依溪。 I find a footprint on the moss, 源雨，雲⽔。 A white cloud hanging low on the quiet lake, 意苔⾨閉⾒閒 Grasses that sweeten an idle door, 處隨相忘看。 A pine grown greener with the rain, 過靜亦春渚。 A brook that flows from a mountain source –松與痕對到。 And, mingling with Truth among the flowers, ⽩路⼀履⾏閒 I have forgotten what to say *
*English translation by Witter Bynner Text permissions granted by the Witter Bynner Poetry Foundation
Performance Notes
The beginning should be sung with a very plain, “colorless” tone to reflect both intrinsic and environmental silence during the traveler’s solitary journey. It can become richer and more colorful as the traveler begins to connect with their surroundings and the texture becomes less homophonic
about the composer
Marybeth Kurnat (1987) is a rising modern voice in choral music in the Chicago area Her authentic compositional style, especially her harmonic language, is heavily influenced by her musical foundation as a jazz saxophonist Marybeth was the 2021-22 Winner of the Stephen Paulus Emerging Composer’s Competition, and a Composition Fellow for the 2023 PREMIERE|Project Festival
Marybeth holds a B M in Music Education from Northern Illinois University, and serves as a music educator in DeKalb, IL She maintains an active performance schedule as a soloist and choral singer with several Chicago-area choirs
www marybeth-kurnat com
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