Hope is the thing with feathers (EN) | Julian Mörth

This piece was commissioned in 2023 for the six-member ensemble Vocalconsort Mainz. It was premiered at a concert in Mainz in June 2023.

The text by Emily Dickinson compares hope to a little bird that sits in the soul and continues to sing, regardless of external storms.

"'Hope' is the thing with feathers," by Emily Dickinson (1830-1886):

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -

And sore must be the storm -

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm -

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -

And on the strangest Sea -

Yet - never - in Extremity,

It asked a crumb - of me.

Choir: SSATBB

Length: 4 min

Vocalconsort Mainz, 2024