Cecilia Dreams of the Lyre (2026)

for SATB choir and organ / commissioned by The Boston Cecilia

In “Cecilia Dreams of the Lyre,” Saint Cecilia’s music flows freely through Orpheus, the choir, and the natural world. Composers and poets alike have long been fascinated by Saint Cecilia—patron saint of music—penning countless odes and verses in her honor. “Cecilia Dreams of the Lyre” draws from seven such texts to reimagine the myth of Orpheus through Cecilia’s eyes. Cecilia and Orpheus each called upon music in a time of need. What if they had heard each other?

Contains excerpts from ”An Ode For St. Cecilia's Day” and “A Song For St. Cecilia's Day, At Oxford” by Joseph Addison, “Hymn to St. Cecilia” by W.H. Auden, “A Song for St. Cecilia's Day, 1687” by John Dryden, “Ode on St. Cecilia's Day” by Alexander Pope, “Ode on St. Cecilia’s Day” by Christopher Smart, and “Spirit of Cecilia” by Ursula Vaughn Williams