Henry Berne

"One time a factor
of holiness
crept through a cloud
touching light to the water
a path washed in sunlight
a presence appeared
to my eye alone
and just for a moment
followed by wind
played by strings
the cloud, dark emerged
in contralto and whispering drums
called in the sunset
to make way for night
and the rise of the moon."

One Time is set to a poem by Henry Berne. At Indiana University I had a roommate, Jerry Morris, who majored in French horn, but his true passion was jazz. From Jerry I learned about Coltrane, Davis, Gillespie, Ellington, Waller. When my friend and fellow member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte, Dr. Henry Berne, showed me his wonderful poem, "One Time," I knew that this was a poem that had to be set to music - and the music had to be as free and improvisational as the words.

Henry Berne is a Charlotte-based psychotherapist who began writing poetry at the age of 70, after having taught theology and psychiatry at Georgetown University and, later, a career as a psychologist. Now, at 81, he leads poetry and healing groups and offers workshops in psychology. His writing is filled with arresting nature imagery.

Written for mixed chorus and jazz trio, this piece should be performed as all good jazz - free as the air!

Duration: approx. 2 ½ minutes