Choose Something Like a Star

[jbmanly69ify]

I was in a choir as a youth, that sung this song. The choir was unique, for it filled all the seats in the Hunstman Arena at the University of Utah. There were no spectators, only performers. The experience was so overwhelming that each time I hear this sung, it reduces me to tears, and heaves, which make it difficult for me to speak.

[theonlymusic1teach]

Thank you for this beautiful video. I am conducting this tomorrow and awoke early with it on my mind. The pictures you chose have been in my mind yet I have been unable to express. I "caught" my students singing it in the lounge and they were so caught up I was amazed- the gift of this poem and Randall Thompson's music is timeless.... and now I know some 18 year olds who love it! Mission accomplished,.....

[HDBirdsall]

@theonlymusic1teach

Thanks! This piece left a lasting impression on me when I sang it in college with the rest of Frostiana. I'm sure your performance went well!

[BeesKnees405]

Of course, I love this song and listen to it whenever life gets hard or I lose hope, but I really like the pictures, as well. Galaxies and then trees. Beautiful. It's funny you put solar flares at "I burn, talk Fahrenheit, talk centigrade!", because it's what I always thought of when I sang this for my choir two years ago. Imagine that.

[4myenny]

I didn't understand this piece the first time I performed it. When I eventually realized that the star is a reference to God - or something greater that one has faith in - something more than our present physical state of existence that we all will become a part of after our work on earth is done - this work resonates with the true meaning of humanity, and stir one's deepest emotions.

[MsEnanus]

muy linda interpretación!

[lorenchristopher]

I first heard this piece 4 years ago while in college, after a special guest lecture the university choir came on stage and performed this. I cried my eyes out (I'm a guy and was 26 at the time, lol). So deep, so hopeful....it transports me, still, to a cosmic world of knowing everything is alright and always will be. Love love love this so much.

[dewarfinch1]

Wonderful. I am captivated by the crossing harmonies. This piece has such a resonance and ambiance...

[Sharoney]

Too fast. Thompson gave a tempo of 60 for this piece. This version is too fast by a third. The entire contemplative aspect of the work is lost. It's really too bad, because the choir seems to understand the other aspects of the piece--the mystery, the timelessness, the blend contrasted with the floating height of the soprano note. But in the end, it feels rushed. That destroys all the clear and unforced choral sound has built up. Shame.

[christophbell2]

@Sharoney Personally, I liked the tempo. This is what I usually conduct it at, the wonderful thing about being a conductor is I can set the tempo, regardless of what the piece says. I like this interpretation, very well done.

[Sharoney]

@christophbell2 And the wonderful thing about being a listener and a choral singer is that I can talk about my preferences in a forum such as this. Happy conducting.

[LAYMANDON]

Is it mystical? In the best sense of the word. Einstein said the mot important aspect of life is to have a sense of wonder. Mystical is related to mystery, and wonder is its best characteristic. I also can't help but see the Buddhist virtue of equanimity in this message. If you don't understand, please work on it. It's important to spritual growth.

[Jaydoggie]

Frost's word are just as relevant today as they were when he wrote them. Perhaps even more so. I remember doing this piece with my high school choir, and the impact of the words then. I haven't heard this piece in many years, so it was refreshing to hear it again, accompanied by some breathtaking photos. Thank you!

[Euph0riaLove]

gave me goosebumps (:

[mimsy51]

Stunning rendition and fabulous pictures -- a mystical piece of art!

[1tufboy]

Thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to create this beautiful video!

[keydet72]

Finally, something good out of Harvard to offset all the lawyers!

[PVcat1]

@keydet72 .........and globalists!

[SirLirin2]

The choir I'm in sang this for a concert last year and I fell in love with it. I was so reluctant to return the sheet music for it! I don't think any choral piece I will ever sing or hear will ever have as strong an effect on me as this one did. This is one of the most beautiful poems I have ever read, and the choral version is chilling.

[bhabooshka]

I tried and tried but I do not get the meaning of the poem at all.

[THX1449]

@bhabooshka It's about how complex the star itself is, and how there are so many questions we can ask, and we may never truly know about it. It gives itself a sense of awe. When there are times that we may become too angry or too proud and we're carried away by the emotion, we can choose something so complex and simple as a star to just stare at, contemplate, and bring us back to earth.

[1MichaelBussee]

@bhabooshka It speaks of finding something unchangeable, something bright and constant to "stay our minds on" when life gets confusing and tumultous. Not to be swayed by temporatry things like praise or blame -- but something we can "learn by heart" and when alone, repeat. That's not easy: "It asks a little of us here" -- a 'certain height". I think of it as holding on to the dream no matter what.

[THX1449]

It's music like this that gets me contemplating life, God, the universe, and everything in between. This is just a testament to what Man can truly do when in the light of creation herself.

[Valocity714]

Wow - couldnt find this anywhere. Thanks for posting, its such a great rendition. Brings back such great memories for me. <3

[ChoirBoyOC]

Sounds like an English choir... very beautiful, but I still prefer the original orchestral version to piano, and, here, organ. When the strings make that stepwise climb to the stars, repeatedly, there's something luminous about it that keyboards can't really duplicate.

[deeperwells]

Me too what happen ot the Morman tabernacle recording that was here?

[Keyease]

A song that is heavenly, like many of Robert Frost's poems. Thank you for posting.

[MoonxBeamz]

Great video! I absolutely adore this song. We are singing it in my high school chamber ensemble this year. It is our beloved choral director's last year because he is retiring and what a wonderful way to end his career with this song.

[platero55]

Beautiful song, beautiful singing, beautiful video! I've sent links to friends who needed the inspiration. The visual of the trees with the words "it asks of us a certain height" always turns on the water works with me. Who is the chorus, may I ask?

[imitatefirst]

This moves me in the same manner in which these lines from William Wordsworth do:

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting;

The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star, Hath had elsewhere its setting And cometh from afar;  Not in entire forgetfulness, And not in utter nakedness,

But trailing clouds of glory do we come From God, who is our home:

(Ode on Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood)

[Shortchecker]

Your video is cosmic. I choose something like 5 Stars for You.

[ckmiller66]

Our community chorus sang the Frostiana collection one year (I'm an alto) and I've never enjoyed rehearsals as much as when working on "Choose something..." It's so deeply inspiring and uplifting. Beautiful video pictures!

[Jupetta]

This piece is simply top notch. There is nothing better out there to be compared to. The meaning is so deep, and the harmonies so rich. I can listen over and over and over again and still be impressed by it just as the first time I listened to it. It strikes a chord deep within my soul speaking to my deepest self. This coming from a 16 year old boy. Whenever I hear this piece I feel as if I've found something to base my life on. Whenever in harsh times I can "choose something like a star."

[xxxsusserxxx]

Indeed!!!Frost is my Favorite poet, and the music Thompson wrote is haunting and captures the imagination. The night sky has always invoked in me a sense of the sacred ~a sense of wonder~and HOPE. Choose something like a star, to stay our minds on.....and....be....Staid.

[DarkSk8erGurl]

@Jupetta Me and my chorus here in Franklin County, Vermont, sang this song this year. I hate it how the suprano's complain about the higher notes... This recording set my example of how the song should sound, and we did nicely but some killed it... This song strikes such a deeper meaning, something called 'hope' and 'faith.' You don't have to be religious, and you don't have to really be a follower of any theory. This song can still mean something to you no matter what. I am nearly 16.

[ems5429]

this poem by Frost and this song by Thompson, has been in my life for some time now I often call on it in great times of need; though I know that sounds very silly but it has seen me though a many a hard time in my life thank you for this post you have made someone in this sad little world very ,very happy

thank you

[sphinxpuzzle]

I cannot put into words the emotional response I get from this. All I can say is that I have watched it six times and each time it has as much impact and I have tears streaming down my face. Frost's poetry, Thompson's music, your visuals: together a wonderful tribute to the Divine. Thank you.

[soulcornflake]

Absolutely beautiful. Which recording is this?