Beyond All Words (2022)
6 minutes
for a cappella SATB
Commissioned by the Australian Vocal Ensemble with assistance from the Australia Council for the Arts.
6 minutes
for a cappella SATB
Commissioned by the Australian Vocal Ensemble with assistance from the Australia Council for the Arts.
from 'Tetragrammaton'
II. He
Beyond all words, beyond all names
there waits immeasurable silence.
Beyond the pulse of sound exists
the wellspring, the invisible fountain
from which all notes and rhythms flow:
the not-I, the immortal Other,
the quietness where time itself
is nothing, all our untold years
of making, earning, journeying,
our birth, our death, our bitter conflicts
are less than dreams. The never-ending
quest for the self is done. We know
question and answer both meaningless,
and then, beyond all symbols, peace:
the not-I. The eternal Other.
Gwen Harwood (1987)
II. He
Beyond all words, beyond all names
there waits immeasurable silence.
Beyond the pulse of sound exists
the wellspring, the invisible fountain
from which all notes and rhythms flow:
the not-I, the immortal Other,
the quietness where time itself
is nothing, all our untold years
of making, earning, journeying,
our birth, our death, our bitter conflicts
are less than dreams. The never-ending
quest for the self is done. We know
question and answer both meaningless,
and then, beyond all symbols, peace:
the not-I. The eternal Other.
Gwen Harwood (1987)
This stunning text by Australian poet Gwen Harwood is taken from a longer poem of four verses, Tetragrammaton.
Tetragrammaton, simply translated to 'having four letters', refers to the Hebrew name for God: the four letters yod, he, yau, he. The letters YHWH (or occasionally JHVH) are vocalised as Yahweh or Jehovah. In Hebrew culture the letters become a substitute for the name of God, which was considered too sacred to be spoken aloud.
Harwood wrote this set of poems in 1987, as a 70th birthday present to Jan Sedivka, the former head of the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music.
Tetragrammaton, simply translated to 'having four letters', refers to the Hebrew name for God: the four letters yod, he, yau, he. The letters YHWH (or occasionally JHVH) are vocalised as Yahweh or Jehovah. In Hebrew culture the letters become a substitute for the name of God, which was considered too sacred to be spoken aloud.
Harwood wrote this set of poems in 1987, as a 70th birthday present to Jan Sedivka, the former head of the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music.