Text by Herbert Buffum (1879-1939)
Spiritual for mixed choir SSAATTBB and Soprano soloist
Lord, I have started to walk in the light That shines on my path way so clear ly, so bright;
I’ve bade the world and its follies adieu, And now with my Savior I mean to go through.
I’m going through, I’m go ing through, I’ll pay the price, whatev er others do; I’ll take the way with the Lord’s despis ed few;
I’m going through, Jesus, I’m go ing through.
Let me but follow my Lord all alone, And have for my pillow, like Jacob, a stone, Rather than vain world ly plea sures pur sue, Than turn from this pathway and fail to go through.
Come then, my com rades, and walk in this way That leads to the Kingdom of Unending Day;
Turn from your idols and join with the few, Start in with your Savior, and keep going through.
Herbert Buffum
Performance Time : c 2:35
About the Work
On the occasion of the premiere of the new project of my chamber choir, NEOVOCALIS, entitled I GOT A SONG! (of spirituals and gospel songs), I decided to write my own spiritual, I’m going through. It is not an arrangement, but a work of my own creation. The text, by the American hymn and song writer Herbert Buffum (1879-1939), is an allegory of life and conversion, of choosing the path of good over the path of evil.
The music I have written has features of the African-American spiritual, such as the mixture of scales (minor, Aeolian and blues scale), the dominant chord on the VI degree, syncopated rhythms, a descant in the re-exposition and the use of the antiphonal technique (facing female and male voices), all with touches of jazz and a funk beat in the background.
I'm going through was premiered by NEOVOCALIS under my own direction on July 25, 2025, within the XXV Ciclo de Música Sacra del Monasterio del Desierto de las Palmas, in Benicàssim (Castellón, Spain).
About me
I am an active choral composer, arranger, director, and a professor of Improvisation based in Valencia, Spain. Choral music has been my passion since my childhood. I started my musical training in my hometown as a chorister at the ‘Escolanía de la Virgen’. The training of those years still influences my compositions (which are mostly sacred) and arrangements for choir and piano. In 2003, I founded the all-professional chamber choir, NEOVOCALIS, which specializes in contemporary choral music. The ensemble has premiered most of my compositions under my direction.
This score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.
Lyrics: Herbert E. Buffum