Hymn to Earth (1993; rev. 1994) by Robert Ross 11 published on 2012-10-07T03:15:51Z Track from some time in the late 1990s recovered after being lost (in my house) for close to 20 years! Original recording was on cassette; I apologize for the sound quality. Performed by the Gregg Smith Singers, the Adirondack Festival Chorus and the Adirondack Chamber Orchestra conducted by the composer live in concert in Saranac Lake, NY. Originally composed for an Earth Day service for Central Baptist Church, Wayne, PA in 1993 (& partly as a way to decompress from doctoral exams). The text is by visual artist Joe Miller (not "Jim," as only a few of the mis-attributions have it) written in 1975 (originally laid out in the form of a sphere). It constitutes the full text of a children's book by him entitled "If the Earth...Were a Few Feet in Diameter" published in October, 1998. The singing text differs slightly from the original version; the final words added by the composer: If the earth were a ball only a few feet in diameter, floating above a field somewhere, people would come from ev’rywhere to marvel at it. They would walk around it, marvelling at its pools of water, and the waters flowing between the pools. They would marvel at its features and the very thin atmosphere surrounding it. They would marvel at all the living creatures moving on its surface, and swimming in its waters. The people would declare it precious, because it was the only one, and they would protect it from all harm and danger. The ball would be the greatest wonder known, and all would come to behold, to be healed, to gain knowledge, and to wonder how it came to be. People would love it, and defend it with their lives, because somehow they would know that their lives and their own wholeness could be nothing without it. If the earth were a ball only a few feet in diameter… Pax in terra; Shalom aleichem. Genre Classical Choral Comment by SaraJordan07 This is really beautiful! 2015-04-24T10:46:21Z Comment by Aaron Ross 2 This sounds like a RPG (role playing game) song 2012-10-08T00:15:50Z Comment by Robert Ross 11 @Victoriiaa: 1) Thank you! 2) "maybe I should try 'entering' it"...? 3) I went to the FB site & this doesn't exactly seem to match what they're promoting. But it couldn't hurt... Thanks again! 2012-10-07T14:03:17Z