Pablo Neruda’s poem, “Deslumbra el dia” (Dazzle of Day), finds beauty in simple things like smells and sounds in the air, drying clothes in the wind, and taking a breath. I wanted to capture its joy in my music. The idea of a continuously moving, shimmering color became the structural core of the piece. The color begins subtly in the tenors as the words unfold in the foreground. The color weaves in and out of the text, remaining in the background until the very end when all voices join in, as it becomes a huge, wordless expression of joy.

Commissioned and premiered by The Dale Warland Singers.