"All Creatures Lament: Hymn for a Suffering Planet" by Benedict Sheehan

World premiere of Benedict Sheehan's "All Creatures Lament" for choir and piano. Performed during "All Creation Sings: A concert on creation care" at Trinity Parish Church in Seattle, WA on April 30, 2023. Commissioned as part of the debut performances of Evergreen Ensemble.
Text by Kate Bluett, Isaac Wardell, & Paul Zach
All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voices; let them ring
Fill the earth with lamentation!
Cry out abuses of our pow'r
Tell what we lose with every hour
To our greed and depredation
Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy
Lord, have mercy!
All creatures winging in the air
Cry out the failures of our care
Fill the sky with lamentation!
Shout through the clouds of smoke and ash
Choked with the fumes of poison gas
Tell us of our degradation
Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy
Lord, have mercy!
All creatures hidden in the seas
Lift up your anguished prayers and pleas
Fill the sea with lamentation!
Teach us to see your wonders now
Help us to make a holy vow
Here to halt your devastation
Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy
Lord, have mercy!
All creatures dwelling on the land
Join as we lift each heart and hand
Fill the world with lamentation!
Mourn the destruction of our home
Weep with the fear of worse to come
Hear the groans of all creation
Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy
Lord, have mercy!
Conductor - David Hendrix
Piano - Christina Siemens
Soloist - Sarra Sharif Doyle
Audio and video produced by ‪@scribestudiosus‬