Late in 2008, composer Don Shabkie invited Henry Mitchell to write texts for music Shabkie was composing to be sung in worship at North Main Friends Meeting in Greenville, South Carolina. At the same time Mitchell was working on the texts, he was taking photographs, which seemed to echo the themes and images of the poems. The results comprise the first Dawntree limited edition folio (above), "Songs for All Seasons- New Texts for Quaker Hymns."
Compromise is the nature of any collaboration. From time to time, the poems had to be altered slightly to fit the demands of the musical compositions. The poems in the folio are presented as they were originally written, before they were fitted to the music.
Compromise is the nature of any collaboration. From time to time, the poems had to be altered slightly to fit the demands of the musical compositions. The poems in the folio are presented as they were originally written, before they were fitted to the music.
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copyright 2003-2010 henry mitchell
Copyright for all text and images shown on this site reside with the artist.
http://dawntreestudio.com
http://henrymitchellsculptor.com
http://sculptorsjournal.com
copyright 2003-2010 henry mitchell
Copyright for all text and images shown on this site reside with the artist.
"Harvest" (right) is the seventh print in the folio. Mitchell says of writing this series of poems, "Writing poems to be sung required that I submit to a regimen of rhyme and meter that I don't usually assume in my poetry. Since the words were to be sung in worship, and in particular the worship of Conservative Friends, I had to write out of a personal and relational theological stance that fortunately fits my own faith perspective. All in all, the disciplines required to write verses for religious music proved liberating rather than confining. I look forward to writing more words for singing in the future."
The photograph for "Harvest" is of the sculpture garden at River Gallery in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was shot with a Nikon FE film camera
The photograph for "Harvest" is of the sculpture garden at River Gallery in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was shot with a Nikon FE film camera
The photograph for "Departure" (left), the opening poem in the "Songs for All Seasons" folio, was shot with a Nikon FE below El Lieutenant, a large rock face on the Bill Kimball trail in Jones Gap in the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area in South Carolina.
"Confession" (above) has been sung by Friends to the tune of "Rosin the Bow." The accompanying photograph, shot with a Nikon D80, is of the west window in the North Main Friends Meeting House in Greenville, South Carolina.
"Prayer" (left) is a favorite at North Main Friends, as well as Trinity Presbyterian Church in nearby Travelers Rest. The dandelion resides just outside the photographer's kitchen door.
"Prayer" (left) is a favorite at North Main Friends, as well as Trinity Presbyterian Church in nearby Travelers Rest. The dandelion resides just outside the photographer's kitchen door.
