My first voice teacher, Dr. William Lock, passed away on May 29, 2022. He was a devout Christian man who loved music and text. One of my last correspondences with him was a plain card mailed to my apartment which simply read:

"Joel,
When will you become the next Michael Head and accompany yourself while singing your own songs?
Bill"

Upon his passing, I felt the need to fulfill this commission. I immediately turned to the poetry of George Herbert (1593-1633), a mystic spiritual poet whose legacy penetrated music most notably through Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Five Mystical Songs." "The Pearl" is a poem of more epic proportions, boasting four 10-line stanzas. The first three stanzas each magnify the most beautiful elements of learning, honour and pleasure, but curiously end with "Yet I Love Thee." The final stanza reveals that the "pearl" which the speaker seeks is indeed a great reward to be found in Heaven. I could not think of a more perfect poem to honour Bill with.

Of note are three ciphers:
Eb-D-G-Ab-D#-B-A = Ma-R-G-A-Ri-T-A (original Greek for "Pearl" as found in Matthew 13, which is an incipit at the beginning of the poem)
Bb-Eb-A-D-E = P-E-A-R-L
E-A-C-D = L-O-C-K (this appears at the end of each song on the line "Yet I Love Thee.")

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