when god decided to invent

SATB, Soprano Saxophone, and Finger Cymbals

I thought a lot about what the creation of the world would actually be like: would it be something so vast and epic that it might be perceived with some degree of violence? Or would it be meticulously planned and lovingly, playfully executed? I chose the latter and, because of that, my “creation” music is more intimate than larger-than-life. The last chord (and what comes after it) is meant to sound “transformative.” For some reason, the ending is always the last thing I write and by the time I got there the arch of the piece was “creation-destruction-re-creation.” This final chord is the creator taking control of the creation again.

when god decided to invent was commissioned by the Flower Mound High School Jaguar Chorale (Dr. Mark Rohwer, conductor) and received its premiere May 20, 2005.  It is dedicated with love to Keith Koehlmoos and Dagan Hanson for their patience with a choir guy’s questions about saxophones.

The Text

By E.E. Cummings (1894-1962)

when god decided to invent
everything he took one
breath bigger than a circustent
and everything began
when man determined to destroy
himself he picked the was
of shall and finding only why
smashed it into because

Performed by the Flower Mound High School Jaguar Chorale
(Dr. Mark Rohwer, conductor).