Music by Daniel Kallman
Lyrics by Christine Kallman
Unison or 2-part voices, piano, 3’30”
Take a journey at night across snow-packed fields and learn about the mystery behind the dazzling aurora borealis of the northern sky. This piece was written for the North Cambridge Family Opera, and performed at the 2015 Cambridge Science Festival in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
On a cold, clear night
Our skis swish over the snow-packed fields
To find the open sky.
We have come to see the sky dance!
Mischief of sun’s enormous rays!
Solar particles trapped in the earth’s magnetic field
Then drawn to the pole to scamper and play,
Colliding with gases:
Oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, helium.
First a glimmer and a glow of pink,
Then a wash of color:
Green and red and purple and blue
In pulsing, shifting, flashing sheets,
Slashing, turning, roiling and churning,
Filling all the sky!
Sometimes impish, leaping flames,
Then long green ribbons arcing and twirling,
Swirling through the night!
My heart sings as I gaze on this dazzling show of light!
On a cold, clear night
Our skis swish over the snow-packed fields
To find the open sky.
We have come to see the sky dance!
Copyright 2015, Christine Kallman, All Rights Reserved