“For Orpheus”

A choral piece by composer William Brooks, commissioned by The Crossing as a part of “Jeff Quartets”, a concert in memory of Jeff Dinsmore. Original poem by Pierre Joris, also commissioned by The Crossing.

Here is the poem:

Jeff Dinsmore Acrostic Elegy

Like Orpheus, for you, Jeff, we finger the strings of life
to play in sorrow and dEep choral dismay a plaint of
life and death our co-Founders two notes enshrine us
a vision we sound today For the absence of one tone as

one man has left but we minD, with Orpheus, the care-
fully sheltered memory of his voIce and intellect of loving
care, his hands-on life a true captaiNship we call on and hail
to celebrate your crossing he was an OrpheuS on the road

calm, funny, with the sweetest huMan tenor voice, beloved
by & loving his choral community, Orpheus, you left us in
the city of the Angels, c’est la vie,  cRossing over, c’est la mort —
yes, you led us here, we will go on as wE sing you now.

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