I Dreamt A Dream (PDF)

Dreamt a Dream was commissioned by Lakeside High School Flute Choir directed by Dr. David Fairchild. The mascot of Lakeside High School is the Viking. It seemed only natural to explore music from Scandanavian and Danish origins. The piece makes use of the oldest musically notated piece of music of Nordic origin, “I Dreamt a Dream of Silk and Fur”, found in the Codex Runicus. The Codex Runicus, a medieval manuscript dating from around 1300 AD, is the oldest preserved Nordic provincial law. One the last page of the manuscript the notated song can be found:

I dreamt a dream last night

of silk and fair furs,

of a pillow so deep and soft,

a peace with no disturbance.

And in the dream I saw

as though through a dirty window

the whole ill-fated human race,

a different fear upon each face.

The number of their worries grow

and with them the number of their solutions -

but the answer is often a heavier burden,

even when the question hurts to bear.

As I was able to sleep just as well,

I thought that would be best -

to rest myself here on fine fur,

and forget everyone else.

Peace, if it is to be found, is where

one is furthest from the human noise -

and walling oneself around, can have a

dream of silk and fine furs.