When first contemplating what this work would become, I knew that I wanted to

create something peaceful. I thought about what a beautiful place the world is. I began

to reflect upon the summer of 2015 and all the events that transpired in the world. I also

thought about how much hate is in it and about how human nature treats the world and

the other people in it; of course this issue is not a new one. I went searching for text and

found Verleih uns Frieden, which was written by Martin Luther in 1524, and has been

set in the original german by several composers including Bach, Schütz and

Mendelssohn. I believe this text to still hold a lot of truth so I set it in english as a hymn

and prayer of peace.