Photo by Chris Chow on Unsplash
Northern Cardinal, The
Hymn composed by
Rowan Benedict SheehanContextual information
From Benedict:
“The Northern Cardinal” is an excerpted movement from Benedict Sheehan’s Songbird Antiphons, commissioned in 2025 by Molly Schen for Skylark Vocal Ensemble (Matthew Guard, director). North America has lost almost 30% of its native songbird population since 1970 due to human activity. And these are not just rare species that few but avid birdwatchers have ever heard of—which would itself be tragedy enough—but well-known, everyday species that most of us simply take for granted. “Songbird Antiphons” thus stands as both a celebration of the amazing treasure that birds and their songs represent, and a fervent plea that we humans take action to rescue them from catastrophe before it’s too late.
From Charles:
“The Northern Cardinal” is one movement in a larger work entitled Songbird Antiphons, which was created to draw attention to the beauty of birds and the threat to their survival by climate change. The cardinal represents hope and resilience in the midst of the cold of winter. It is an appropriate text for wintertime, for a focus on environmental/creation themes, the importance of music/song, or a reminder of hope in times of adversity.
A version of this song with harmonic variation between the verses, suitable for SATB choral groups, will be published by E.C. Schirmer in late 2026.
From Benedict:
“The Northern Cardinal” is an excerpted movement from Benedict Sheehan’s Songbird Antiphons, commissioned in 2025 by Molly Schen for Skylark Vocal Ensemble (Matthew Guard, director). North America has lost almost 30% of its native songbird population since 1970 due to human activity. And these are not just rare species that few but avid birdwatchers have ever heard of—which would itself be tragedy enough—but well-known, everyday species that most of us simply take for granted. “Songbird Antiphons” thus stands as both a celebration of the amazing treasure that birds and their songs represent, and a fervent plea that we humans take action to rescue them from catastrophe before it’s too late.
From Charles:
“The Northern Cardinal” is one movement in a larger work entitled Songbird Antiphons, which was created to draw attention to the beauty of birds and the threat to their survival by climate change. The cardinal represents hope and resilience in the midst of the cold of winter. It is an appropriate text for wintertime, for a focus on environmental/creation themes, the importance of music/song, or a reminder of hope in times of adversity.
A version of this song with harmonic variation between the verses, suitable for SATB choral groups, will be published by E.C. Schirmer in late 2026.
Tune Name
[Northern Cardinal]
Tune Name
Text Meter
12.11.12.11.
10.9.10.9
Song Composer
Rowan Benedict SheehanHymn Arranger
Composer Background information
Photo by John Wirick
Three-time GRAMMY® nominee and American Prize–winner Benedict Sheehan (he/him) has been called “one of the leading voices in religious classical music in the 21st century” (ConcertoNet) and “a remarkable musician and composer” (Choral Journal). He is Artistic Director and founder of the GRAMMY®-nominated Artefact Ensemble and a full-time freelance composer. Sheehan is also a person who stutters. He is a passionate advocate for people in the arts with disabilities and speech differences, and his projects and ensembles have become known within the choral community as welcoming, inclusive, and life-affirming spaces for musicians and audiences alike.
Spiritual tags
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Lyricist Background information
Photo by Catherine Norwood
Charles Anthony Silvestri (he/him) is a lyric poet with decades of experience writing for more than a hundred choral composers worldwide. He is a retired educator, the author of three books, and a frequent speaker at UU congregations.
Arranger Background information
Arranger Website LinkLyrics
You light on a branch in the clear light of morning,
A red flash of hope on the blanket of snow.
You bring to the chill of the winter a warming;
Your clear ringing song like an ember aglow.
When frosty cold fingertips grasp at my spirit
And threaten to drag me down to despair,
Your song fills the longing and so I can bear it,
So cheerful and resonant, so bracing and fair.
Your song is a sign of a courage resilient,
Reviving our spirits, a clarion bold;
Both rising and falling its notes ring out brilliant,
An offering cherished in midwinter cold.
Resources
Music XML and MEI and MIDI and Musescore files
Slides
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