Since I Laid My Burden Down
Since I Laid My Burden Down
Voicing: SATB
Accompaniment: piano
Music and Text: traditional African American spiritual, adapted/arranged by Kyle Pederson
Glory hallelujah, since I laid my burden down
I have joy now like a fountain
I have joy deep in my soul
I have joy now like a fountain
Since I laid my burden down.
I have peace now, like a river
I have peace deep in my soul
I have peace now like a river
Since I laid my burden down.
Program note from the composer:
To me, spirituals are the most powerful type of music. Spirituals were birthed and rooted in the experience of chattel slavery in the United States—and arose out of, as Arthur C. Jones suggests, "deeply meaningful, archetypically human experiences, relevant not only to the specific circumstances of slavery but also to women and men struggling with issues of justice, freedom, and spiritual wholeness in all times and places.”
My arrangement of Since I Laid My Burden Down integrates the iconic melodies of two spirituals (Lay Your Burden Down and Glory Glory Hallelujah). I've always been struck by the seeming contradiction of the text--which is a text about joy and praise--and the unjust and tragic experience of slavery from which it arose. It is beyond remarkable to me that in the midst of such suffering and pain, the original writers of these spirituals could still find voice to praise God and sing about joy. And I think there is an invitation in that to the choirs and audiences of today; in the middle of our own personal and communal trials and pain, where can we find joy? Can we still find reason to sing praises? And what particular burdens (both personal and community-wide) do we need to lay aside to more fully step into freedom and peace? When we lay down our burdens of hate, judgement, and apathy--how might our lightened load spin more compassion, love, and grace out into the world?
