The Close of Day

For SATB Chorus and String Chamber Orchestra (2 violins, viola, cell, bass)

Text by Wesley Curtwright (1910 - 1988)

Wesley Curtwright, an African American born in Georgia in the early 20th century, was no stranger to death and tragedy. After his father's death when he was just 3 years old, Wesley moved around to various towns around the U.S. His poem, The Close of the Day, written at the young age of 17, is a mature reflection on the inevitability of death and looking back on the memories of a long life. He observes the constant motion of the sun, as it moves “without a falter” through the sky. Likewise, our lives move forward incessantly toward their final destination: the close of day. It is not a fate to be lamented, but simply to be observed. As we near the end, we look back on the scenes from our life partially obscured or blurred, and yet we cherish these memories; they are all we have.

“To meet and then to part,” and that is all,

To slowly turn an album’s crusty leaves,

To see the faces and the scenes recall,

Are things that in a lifetime one achieves.

To wander down a broad-arch gallery,

Viewing the scenes from life on either side,

Pressed forward with the force of years to see

But part of every picture when espied.

The big sun in its blue dome keeps its course,

Without a falter moves upon its way.

So human life, returning to its source,

Is overtaken by the close of day.

To dream, and being rudely waked from thought,

Return to peaceful dreaming dearly bought.

--Wesley Curtwright, 1927