And the Time Is (Perc Ens 9 + SATB Choir & Piano)

And the Time Is is a poignant work for SATB choir and percussion ensemble featuring the beautiful words of Samuel Hazo, Sr.

Genre: Choir with Percussion Ensemble | # of Players: 9 + Choir & Piano
Level: Medium | Duration: 9:45

Instrumentation
SATB Choir
Crotales (2 octaves)
Bells
Vibraphone 1
Vibraphone 2
Chimes
Mairmba 1 (4.3-octave)
Marimba 2 (5.0-octave)
Timpani (4 drums)
Piano
Cello

Program Notes
And the Time Is is a poignant work for SATB choir and percussion ensemble featuring the beautiful words of Samuel Hazo, Sr.

We have come to the point of decision,
and the hands of the clock say BE CAREFUL.
We’ve learned from the past that our choices
are one or the other or neither
and the hands of the clock say BE CAREFUL.

We have readied ourselves for the challenge
by weighing the odds and the chances
of what will result from our choice
and the hands of the clock say BE HOPEFUL.

We’re not what we were when we started
and the hands of the clock say IT’S OVER.
Our yesterdays lengthen like shadows
that fade when we no longer cast them
and the hands of the clock say IT’S OVER.

Despite what it brings to surprise us,
we treasure each day in its passing
though we know that we pass as it passes
and the hands of the clock say DISCOVER.

We sit on the porch ev’ry evening
and the hands of the clock say BE WATCHFUL.
We study the leaves in their turning
from green to vermillion to purple
and the hands of the clock say BE WATCHFUL.

While we stare at the sky in its vastness
and name ev’ry star in the distance,
we dwindle in the balance
and the hands of the clock say BE GRATEFUL.

The dead come to life in our dreaming
and the hands of the clock say REMEMBER.
The words of a prophet keep haunting
the ones who ignored him when living
and the hands of the clock say REMEMBER.

The world that we say is around us
is neither before or behind us,
but always within us
and the hands of the clock say FOREVER!