Border

SATB, organ

Written for the 2013 United Church of Christ Musician’s Association, this anthem is suitable for both sacred and secular situations. It explores that moment when a sudden life-changing event has taken place, the outcome is not yet clear, but nothing will ever be the same.

Reginald Unterseher · Border, Reginald Unterseher
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PROGRAM NOTE

In every sudden disaster, accident, or terrorist act, there is that moment “between,” the border of one state of being to the new state. The knife cut has not yet begun to bleed, the pain has not yet registered, the buildings have not yet fallen. When the Boston Marathon bombs went off on April 15, 2013, the character of the people who found themselves at the center of the attack was clearly shown. So many people’s first impulse was to help wherever they could, give aid and comfort in any way they could, despite whatever peril it might put them in. This piece is a call to honor those people, to be those people.

TEXT

In the moment at the border of what was and what will be—
Stillness in the observation, not yet knowing what we see;
In the dawning recognition, light transfigures all below,
and the world bends in new patterns; seas raised up, the hills made low.

We are called inside the moment; mind and heart and strength arise
We will know beyond all knowing as we start to realize
How the change has wounded each one, how the wounds will change our lives;
In the face of stunning terror, human dignity survives.

Understanding guides our action— we begin to steer our fate
Running into flames and carnage, showering reason onto hate;
Building justice, teaching mercy, giving all to do our part
Bind the broken, mend the injured, heal the wounded human heart.

—Sheila Dunlop
4/20/13