Craig pays tribute to his friend and collaborator Michael Dennis Browne.
Craig collaborated with Michael Dennis Browne on many projects. Listen to three of Craig’s favorites below.
The Holding Carol
A carol for all seasons – and the first carol Craig composed – “The Holding Carol” was first heard at Conspirare Christmas 2017. We were in the midst of a time when many were feeling heaviness and discouragement, moving Craig to create a carol that could inspire the singer and the listener to remember the light they carry, the joy and happiness that is at the core of their original being, no matter how deeply buried, beaten down or forgotten. For all children, young and old, this carol embodies a call from one heart to another to remember one’s original happiness and divine spark, even and especially in the midst of world-weariness. When beginning this carol, Craig asked Michael Dennis Browne if he could create a text with a simple message that could be sung both to children and adults – ultimately collaborating to create the final sung text. This is dedicated to nieces Julia, Mia and Solveig and Conspirare soprano Kathlene Ritch.
Listen (soloist: Stefanie Moore) / Sheet Music
Text:
All the days feel like winter
Filled with shadows and gray
Eyes are heavy, spirits drifting
Seems it’s always that way
For a young child, close beside me
I longed to sing from my heart
‘Bout a light that I can see,
Shines in you and shines in me.
Yes, you are like a starry sky
Yes, all the leaves of every tree
Yes, you are all the sweetest songs
Heard in the heart
Dream, let us always always dream
Dream how the world can ever be
Dream every blessing we receive
Deep within this joy
Here we are, breathing peace
In this holy place
Every longing we have known
Mercy and grace
This is the healing
Gently flowing in us
Only joy, only joy
Here we are
Song of Gratitude
In 2011, Craig was invited to create and conduct a Tribute Concert for the 50th Anniversary Celebration for the Minnesota Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association. The leaders of this celebration were interested in providing a musical event in which participants could pay tribute to the individuals who had shaped and influenced their lives– teachers, parents, friends, guides. “Song of Gratitude” was created to express gratitude for these significant people in our lives as well as for the many gifts we experience as a part of the procession of Life. Craig dedicated this song in loving memory of his father, Morris M. Johnson.
Text:
Out of this love, out of this longing
Out of these voices from all of the ages
Out of these songs, out of this singing
Lifting our souls, lifting our being
Heart, you are everywhere
Deeper than dreaming
In the name of the Spirit of Love
Always and everywhere, we bow down
We bow down, namaste
Within the source, within the center
Within the telling of falling and rising
Within the root, within creation
Harvest of waves, dancing, redeeming
Hope, you flow everywhere
Healing our hunger
In the name of the Spirit of Love
Always and everywhere, we bow down
We bow down, namaste
Harmony flesh (harmony flesh)
Harmony treasure (harmony treasure)
Harmony human, forever returning
Harmony path, harmony vision
Blessing our way, endless beginnings
Light, you shine everywhere
Shaping our wonder
In the name of the spirit of love
Always and everywhere, we bow down (we bow down)
We bow down (we bow down), namaste
The Innocence
The 17th movement of Considering Matthew Shepard, “The Innocence” was another collaborative text by Michael Dennis Browne and Craig Hella Johnson.
Listen (soloist: Matt Alber)/ Sheet Music
Text:
When I think of all the times the world was ours for dreaming,
When I think of all the times the earth seemed like our home-
Every heart alive with its own longing,
Every future we could ever hope to hold.
All the times our laughter rang in summer,
All the times the rivers sang our tune-
Was there already sadness in the sunlight?
Some stormy story waiting to be told?
Where O where has the innocence gone?
Where O where has it gone?
Rains rolling down wash away my memory;
Where O where has it gone?
When I think of all the joys, the times we remember
All the treasures we believed we’d never ever lose.
Too many days gone by without their meaning,
Too many darkened hours without their peace.
Where O where has the innocence gone?
Where O where has it gone?
Vows we once swore, now it’s just this letting go,
Where O where has it gone?
Where O where has the innocence gone?
Where O where has it gone?
Rains rolling down wash away my memory;
Where O where has it gone?
A Few Memorable Moments with Michael Dennis Browne
Michel Dennis Browne shakes hands with Dennis Shepard at the 2024 Bass Concert Hall Performance of Considering Matthew Shepard.
Michael Dennis Browne (second from right sided) at a February 2018 Considering Matthew Shepard tour stop at the Mannoni Performing Arts Center in Hattiesburg, MS.
