This page contains the text and translations for the upcoming ECC concert:
World Beloved - A Celebration of
Women Composers
Saturday, June 6, 2026, 7:30 pm
Runnymede United Church (map)
1 - The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass
Music by Carol Barnett
Libretto by Marisha Chamberlain
I. Ballad: Refrain
They say God loved the world so dear
He set aside His crown
And cloaked Himself in human shape;
They say that He came down,
And dwelt awhile among us here.
He came on down.
II. Kyrie
Mercy!
Oh, Kyrie! Have mercy! Oh, Christe!
Mercy, Oh mercy, eleison, eleison.
Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison
Kyrie eleison, have mercy on creation!
Christe eleison, have mercy on our souls!
III. Ballad: First Verse
A child walked forth on Eden’s way,
A child stretched out her hand.
O, may I taste the apple tree
And take to understand
The fruit of knowledge in my mouth,
And know of God firsthand?
IV. Gloria
Glory be to God on high,
Who launched the sunlight, loosed the rain,
Who scattered stars across the sky,
Who piled the mountains, rolled the plains,
Who spilled the rivers and the seas.
Oh Glory be, oh Glory be.
Glory be to God below,
For feather, fur, for scale and fin,
For vine uptwisting, blossom’s fire,
For muscle, sinew, nerve and skin
And every feature set aglow
Oh, Glory be to God below.
Oh Glory be for peace on earth,
And prayerful be the human heart
That has required a Savior’s birth
To make of earth heav’ns counterpart,
So strife might stop and warring cease.
Oh, Glory be for peace, oh, be for peace.
Oh, Glory be the generous hand
Who left us to our work, and care,
Who gave us only few commands
But that we help each other bear Life’s burdens.
Pain and suffering ease.
Oh, Glory be, oh, Glory be.
V. Ballad: Second Verse and Refrain
Adam, he labored, Eve, she toiled,
And many children bore,
And sometimes all was fruitfulness
And sometimes seasons wore
Them down to dust and emptiness
And hunger at the door.
But they said God loved the world so dear
He set aside His crown
And cloaked Himself in human shape;
They say that He came down,
And dwelt awhile among us here.
He came on down.
VI. Credo
Oh, I do believe a place awaits us far across the Jordan
And when we reach those mossy banks we’ll cast aside our oars.
Row on, row on, we’re crossing River Jordan.
Row on, and no one goes alone.
Oh, I do believe a place awaits us high above the mountains
And when we reach that highest peak, we’ll spread our wings and soar.
Climb on, climb on, we’re climbing Jacob’s ladder
Climb on, climb on, and no one goes alone.
Oh, I do believe a resting place awaits us, 'cross the Jordan.
We’ll toss our coats, throw off our hats and take the seat of ease.
And it’s not the seat of riches and it’s not the seat of power,
Row on, row on, and no one goes alone.
VII. Sanctus
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus.
Dominus Deus Sabaoth;
Pleni sunt coeli et terra Gloria tua.
Hosanna in excelsis.
VIII. Ballad:Third & Fourth Verses and Refrain
The skies exploded, towers fell;
The floods came rushing down
And many souls were burned alive
And many souls were drowned
And others set to marching, marching
Far from house and home.
Where are you now, our Savior dear,
When we are all undone?
They said God loved the world so dear
He set aside His crown
And cloaked Himself in human shape;
They say that He came down,
And dwelt awhile among us here.
He came on down.
Oh, I am here among you now
Tho’ I must pass unseen,
And cannot show why this must be
Nor how I walk between
Your souls and greater dangers
Than you have ever known,
To laugh with you and weep with you,
My people, oh my own.
It’s true, I love the world so dear
I cast aside My crown
And cloak Myself in mystery
So I can come on down
And dwell in and among you now,
I come on down.
IX. Agnus Dei
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, Dona nobis pacem.
X. Instrumental Interlude: Art Thou Weary?
XI. Benediction
Blessings be upon your heads.
Bless the living, bless the dead.
Blessings be upon you, my people.
Blessing so that you may go
Lightly through this world of woe.
Blessing be upon you, my people.
Blessings, and may you embrace
God in guise of human grace.
Blessings now and forever.
XII. Conclusion
They say God loved the world so dear
She set aside Her crown
And cloaked Herself in human shape;
They say that She came down,
And dwelt awhile among us here.
She came on down.
2 - Lanterns in the Mist
Words and Music by Lauren Halasz and Colin McMahon
They tell me of a place over the greener hills deep within the bower
where even the dew is sweet like honey speckling the flowers
Their songs pierce me like arrows, their eyes lanterns in the mist
Listen they are calling me away to a land in between the night and day
With voices that are clearer than the church bells
Can you hear them? Oh I think they are calling me away
Dancing to the drums and harp with silver strings
violins of gold, sapphire wine almost as manna from the chalice flows
they tell me wondrous stories as I wander through the mist
Listen they are calling me away to a land in between the night and day
With voices that are clearer than the church bells
Can you hear them? Oh I think they are calling me away
On the path they’re lighting through the oak and ash
far beyond the fields and apple groves
there’ll be no more crying upon the king that leads you through the fairy wood
His songs pierce me like arrows, his eyes lanterns in the mist
Listen they are calling me away to a land in between the night and day
With voices that are clearer than the church bells
Can you hear them? Oh I think they are calling me away
3 - Chasing Fairies
Words and Music by Lauren Halasz and Colin McMahon
I breathed in the forest as I ran
the scent of earth and pine trees on the wind
at seven I could fly away she never seemed to make me stay
I was chasing fairies
I remember their silver dresses sparkled in the sun
I saw them pass behind the trees their voices singing follow me
I’ll catch them this time, see how fast I run
Then suddenly I realized that time had passed me by
someone took a paint brush and put orange in the sky
the wind will take me far away wherever I may go
remember though I promised her at night I would be home
Street lamps lit a shadow on the pavement
silent wings that circle round the light
at seventeen I liked to say she never could have made me stay,
she made me promise I’d come home that night,
Then suddenly I realized that time had passed me by
someone took a paint brush and put orange in the sky
the wind will take me far away wherever I may go
remember though I promised her at night I would be home
4 - Run Home
words and music by Lauren Halasz and Colin McMahon
Your bones are branches shivering in the wind
losing your leaves in flurries on the ground, crackling skin
your roots dig deep, they remember where you’ve been
Run home to the mountains
Run home to the trees
Run home to the water
Run home to me
The winter river and clearing mind
You seem so weary floating on time
your roots drink deep, they remember where you have been
Run home to the mountains
Run home to the trees
Run home to the water
Run home to me
The moon is calling your name at night with the loons on the lake
will you cry out, will you cry out, will you cry to the mountains,
cry to the trees, cry to the water, cry out to me
Run home to the mountains
Run home to the trees
Run home to the water
Run home to me
INTERMISSION
Bluegrass Instrumentals
EMB by David Grizman, and Roanoke by Bill Monroe
5 - November Song
music by Jade Lotter
lyrics: Sarah Henstra
The sky hangs heavy on the sidewalk
The trees are shedding their leaves
November morning shows no mercy
To a feeble soul like me
I want to be real as a robin after a rainstorm
I want to be true as surf is to sand
I want to be sure as something bound to happen
And I want to be true as the sky is to the land
We're far too weary for this party
There's no one here for us to meet
No one is asking us to stay for dinner
There ain't nothing good to eat
Why can't we be real as a robin after a rainstorm?
Can we be true as surf is to sand?
I want to be sure as something bound to happen
And I want to be true as the sky is to the land
Empty, empty handed
Close the door it's cold outside
Open, open hearted
At least we know we tried
If you quit loving me tomorrow
I won't bemoan my fate
It's been a year long unlikely fortune
You've been my state of grace
I want to be real as a robin after a rainstorm
I want to be true as surf is to sand
I want to be sure as something bound to happen
And I want to be true as the sky is to the land
6 - To See the Sky
Music by Jocelyn Hagen
Words by Sara Teasdale
One by one, like leaves from a tree,
All my faiths have forsaken me;
But the stars above my head
Burn in white and delicate red,
And beneath my feet the earth
Brings the sturdy grass to birth.
I who was content to be
But a silken-singing tree,
But a rustle of delight
In the wistful heart of night,
I have lost the leaves that knew
Touch of rain and weight of dew.
Blinded by a leafy crown
I looked neither up nor down.
But the little leaves that die
Have left me room to see the sky;
Now for the first time I know
Stars above and earth below.
7 - The Lake Isle of Innisfree
Music by Eleanor Daley
Words by W. B. Yeats
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.
8 - The Maggie Hunter
Music by Ruth Watson Henderson
Words collected by Edith Fowke
1. Oh, sad and dismal is the tale to you I will relate,
‘Tis of the Maggie Hunter, her crew and their sad fate,
How they sank beneath the deep, in life to rise no more,
In one of the fearful gales that sweep Ontario’s dreary shore.
2. They left Oswego on their lee, the whitecaps high did roll,
Bound for the fair Queen City with three hundred tons of coal.
There never was a jollier crew sailed on the lakes or seas
As they their canvas all did make and spread it to the breeze.
3. When they got well outside the piers it blew a lively gale,
By orders of the captain ‘tis supposed they shortened sail,
Of all the captains on the lake Frank Nixon reigned as chief,
So they sailed for Toronto with their canvas closely reefed.
4. The whitecaps dashed before the bow, like thunder they did roar,
As if singing a sad requiem she would plough the waves no more.
Two Newman brothers before the mast their duty they did do,
Together with three other men composed the Hunter’s crew.
5. So dusk came down and darkness next, it was a fearful night,
The ill-fated Maggie Hunter she’s now far out of sight.
She’s now far out of sight, my boys, now will be seen no more,
Down in the deep now all do sleep far from their friend on shore.
6. Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison,
The many friends who loved her will never greet her more.
A hatch, a boom, a broken spar, The drowned woman’s pale dead face,
Of that stout craft and gallant crew remain the only trace.
7. So come all ye that follow the land and a living there do make,
It’s little do you make, of the dangers of these lakes,
Whenever there a storm arise think of the night it blew,
And the Maggie Hunter she went down with all her gallant crew.
9 - TāReKiṬa
Words and music by Reena Esmail
Dhā tārekiṭa Dhūm tārekiṭa Nōm tārekiṭa Takadīmītaka
Hum tā nā nā Hum tā nā nā Hum tā nā nā Hum tā nā nā
Hum tā nā nā janū Takadīmī
(These syllables imitate the sounds of drums)
10 - Upon Your Heart
Music by Eleanor Daley
Words from Song of Solomon 8: 6,7 and John 15: 9-12
Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm,
for love is strong as death.
Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can the floods drown it.
If you keep my commandments,
you shall abide in my love,
Love one another as I have loved you,
Then shall your joy be complete.
Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm,
for love is strong as death.
11 - When I Become an Old Woman
words and music by Sherry Blevins
When I become an old woman,
When I become an old woman,
I’ll be magnetic.
It’s genetic.
When I become an old woman,
Oh, an old woman,
I’ll be vivacious,
Extra loquacious.
I’ll lose my filter,
And say exactly what I’m thinking.
I’ll learn to tango.
I will dance like nobody’s watching.
(Twirl like no one’s watching.)
I’ll never worry when people pass judgement.
Poor saps don’t know what they’re missing!
I’ll give up plucking
And embrace my inner Yeti/Sasquatch.
I will wear stretchy pants,
And never bother with zippers or button flies.
(Who has time for buttons?)
I’ll toss my bras / heels away!
Say goodbye to my underwire prison / this medieval torture.
When I become an old woman,
My purse could hold the kitchen sink, (the whole sink!)
It will be hot pink. (My purse will be hot pink!)
When I become an old woman,
Oh, an old woman,
I will be brassy,
And oh, so sassy, (oh, so very sassy!)
When I become an old woman,
I will dance the tango!