Keane Southard
A Blessing of Discomfort for
a cappella SSA choir
(2015) (Duration: c. 4 mins)
Program notes: A Blessing of Discomfort was commissioned by the Algonquin Regional High School Camerata Singers, directed by Kathrine Waters, with funding from the Northborough Southborough Music Association. The work was written in October and November of 2015. This was my first time writing for a women's choir, and I was thrilled to have been given the opportunity to write for the one at my alma mater. I was searching for a text to set when I stumbled on a Franciscan Benediction I had been given in college, buried deep inside boxes of things I was in the process of cleaning out. I love how it is a blessing that inspires action out of negative feelings instead of asking for divine help and comfort, and my hope is that the music makes the message even more inspiring. I freely adapted the text to make it more poetic and “singable�: May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, at commercial messages, at inherited habits so that you may search deep within your heart. May God bless you with anger at poverty, inequality, and exploitation so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace. May God bless you with tears for the rejected, the hungry, and the injured so that you may comfort them and bring them joy. And may God bless you with the foolishness to believe that you can heal the world so that you may do what has never been done. Keane Southard 2015
Keane Southard/Spindrift Pages Email: keane.southard@hotmail.com Website: keanesouthard.instantencore.com
Commissioned by the Algonquin Regional High School Camerata Singers, Kathrine Waters - Director, with funding from the Northborough Southborough Music Association
A Blessing of Discomfort
Adapted from a Franciscan Benediction (Public Domain)
SOPRANO 1
q = 38 (e = 76) mp
mf
May God bless
you
mp
SOPRANO 2
May God bless
you
mp
May God bless q = 38
Piano Reduction (For Rehearsal Only)
3
bless
bless
you
bless you
you
you
May God
mp
May God
p
at eas - y
an -
swers,
bless you with dis - com - fort
f
p
at com -mer -cial
with dis - com - fort Più mosso
mp
Più mosso q = 46
f
f
bless
with dis - com - fort
May God
God
May God bless
May God
mf
you
you
mf
(e = 76)
mp
May
ALTO
May God bless
Keane Southard
q = 46
©2015
2 6
f
so
mess- a - ges,
p
3
at in - her -it - ed hab - its
3
so
deep
with - in
deep with - in
your
with
-
in
your
rit.
heart.
p
deep
heart.
heart.
(t)
May God
mp
(t)
May God
mp
(t)
May God q = 38
q = 38 (e = 76) mp
search
p
your
that you may
p
search
rit. 9
that you may
f
so
search
f
that you may
bless
bless
you
May God
you
May God
(e = 76)
God
you
May
bless
q = 46
poco accel. 12
mf bless
mp
you
May God
mf
bless
you
May God
May God
you
with
bless May God
an
bless
bless you with
you
f
-
with
an -
ger
ger
at
mp
mf
and ex - ploi
ta - tion
in - e - qual - i - ty,
and ex - ploi
mp
in - e - qual - i - ty,
pov - er - ty,
and ex - ploi
mf
so
at
q = 46
mp
f
poco accel.
at
ger
15
an -
you
f
mp
bless
mp
mf
bless
3
that you may
ta - tion
so
mf
ta - tion
that you may
so
that you may
4
f
17
(e = e) mp
(e = e)
f
work
f
free - dom, and
for
jus - tice,
free - dom, and
jus - tice
free - dom, and
(e = e)
21
peace.
May God bless you with
(e = e)
for the re - ject - ed, the hun - gry, and the
p
p
(Ossia)
mf
for the re - ject - ed, the hun - gry, and the
tears
May God bless you with
tears
peace.
p
tears
mf
for
May God bless you with
mp
peace.
mp
work
for
jus - tice,
mf
work
for the re - ject - ed, the hun - gry, and the
q = 38 (e = 76) mp
rit. f
mf 23
in -jured so
that you may
com - fort them
and bring
them
joy.
mf
f
And may God
mp
in -jured so
that you may
f
com - fort
them
in jured so
that you may
rit.
com
-
fort them and bring them
joy.
and bring them
mf
And may God
mp
joy.
And may God
q = 38
5
(e = 76)
poco accel.
mf
26
bless you
May God
bless you
mf
May
bless you
God bless
mf
bless you
May God bless
p
p
you
p
you
May
God bless
you
with the
mp
May God
bless
May God
bless you with the
mp
May God
mp
bless
you
with the
poco accel.
6 29
q = 50 mf
fool - ish - ness
mf
fool
-
mf
fool
-
ish -
ish
q = 50
to
lieve
be -
ness
that you can
f
be
ness
ff
world
mf
f
that you may
that you may
heal
the
the
what
do
what
has
A tempo
has
do
f
so that you may
do
f
mf
poco rit.
A tempo
A tempo
poco rit.
so
mf
world
that you can
so
ff
lieve
world
ff
heal
be -
A tempo
lieve that you can
to
the
poco rit.
32
-
f
heal
to
-
poco rit.
f
what has
7
rit.
p
35
ne
been
-
ver
ne
-
ne
-
ver
been
ver
been
bless
done.
you
pp
(oo)
pp
you.
p
May God
q = 38
p
p
rit.
May God
p
q = 38 (e = 76)
(e = 76)
bless
you
pp
(oo)