We Are One
Although the original version of this piece, as commissioned by the Fort Bend Boys Choir of Houston, Texas, was for SSAA chorus with piano, the publication version has been modified in several respects to make it more approachable for general children’s choirs.
The four part texture has been reduced to three voices throughout, the piano accompaniment has been discretely beefed up, and the text has been altered to include references to both boys and girls, and references to Texas have been eliminated so that it may be used by choirs from all areas of the country.
The text talks about the ways that singing brings together people from all ethnic and religious backgrounds. Perhaps the key phrase of the text is this:
The forces that divide the world
will never be as strong
as the voices of the young
raised up in unity and song.
