There's a book I've read at least thirty times. No kidding. It's by Jerome K. Jerome and, yes, that was his real name.

The title is:
Three Men in a Boat
(to say nothing of the dog)

Each time I finish it I am tempted to read it all over again. Sometimes I have! I do love it so. The narrator's comic tone is authentic and delightful, the situations are hilarious and, best of all, the book offers a gentle, humble wisdom based on forbearance and common sense.

In 1986 I wrote a choral setting of one such passage from the book and two more in 1994, making a three-movement choral work I titled Three Admonishments from Three Men in a Boat.

I want to share with you the third one: Let Your Boat of Life Be Light. Duration: 3:07.

Here are the words, slightly adapted from Jerome's original text:

"Let your boat of life be light, packed with only what you need: a homely home and simple pleasures, a cat, a dog, and a pipe or two and enough to eat and enough to wear and more than enough to drink. [And] someone to love and someone to love you. Someone to share the time to watch the glittering sunbeams flitting in and out among the ripples, shining lightly on the shallows, golden leaves, mossy trees, cattails, rushes and the joyful lilies, white and yellow. Let your boat of life be light...”

What makes the opening canon sound so light? Avoidance of the tonic. The opening hovers around the dominant and as the tune flows along, rippling up and down, it only just grazes the tonic (the tonal center of the piece, in this case an E flat). This gives the music a heady, lighter-than-air feeling; the singers and listeners have the sensation of floating through the piece ... like the three men in a boat (to say nothing of the dog).

When you click the link below you'll hear the piece enthusiastically sung by the Chancel Choir of the Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church, where I am to be found among the baritones every Sunday morning. That's Chris Miller directing, than whom there is no more ardent advocate of my music and for whose friendship and artistry I am immensely grateful.

Most likely, this will be the only time you'll ever hear this piece, as recorded in concert a few years ago. It won't be on a CD so it will never be broadcast on the radio. Hardly anybody knows it exists, so it's almost never performed.

To hear “Let Your Boat of Life Be Light” sung by the Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Chancel Choir under Chris Miller, please click on the link above.

To see a PDF of the score, please click on the link above.

Rick Sowash
Cincinnati, OH
December 29, 2013