I Wonder as I Wander
I Wonder as I Wander
Kyle Pederson (2025)
Voicing: SATB
Accompaniment: piano with optional C instrument
Text: John Jacob Niles, adapted by Kyle Pederson
Commissioned by: Dr. Douglas Boyer, director, Texas Lutheran University Choir
I wonder as I wander out under the sky
as stars on their courses illumine the night;
the vastness of time through infinite space,
the universe dances with myst'ry and grace.
How I, a mere mortal, may look up in awe
as Bethlehem's star beckons me through the dawn;
it shines on the manger, the Prince of all Peace,
and bids me to wonder, "is this gift for me?"
Emmanuel
This gift in the manger is given for all--
the strong and heroic, the lost and the small;
Christ bids to our stone hearts, "come soften and give,"
and offers his own heart so others may live.
I wonder as I wander out under the sky
how the light of the heavens is born in this child
The universe dances with glory and grace
and I gaze in the manger....and see love's face.
Emmanuel
COMPOSER NOTE:
Shimmering with both tenderness and grandeur, this reimagining of I Wonder as I Wander invites us to gaze upward in awe and inward in wonder. The familiar carol’s yearning is expanded through new text that sets Bethlehem’s humble manger against the vast sweep of the cosmos—a universe dancing with mystery, grace, and glory. The music moves between hushed intimacy and radiant climaxes, drawing us toward Emmanuel, God-with-us.
