The World’s an Inn was written for the Indiana Musicians Abroad for their 2025 European Concert Tour, featuring

performances in cathedrals, chapels, and castles across the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Germany, and Austria.

Dedicated to the high school musicians, music educators, and travelers on this journey, this a cappella work seeks to evoke the wonder, beauty, and transformative power of travel.

Using Francis Quarles' 17th-century text, this setting captures the poet’s view of life as a brief, enriching stay in “Nature’s inn.”

Quarles' words resonate with our experience of travel: we eat, drink, rest, and revel in life’s offerings, knowing our time in each place is fleeting. In “paying our lavish bills”, we see both the literal cost of travel and the debts or consequences we carry

through life, guiding us from one dwelling to the next, and ultimately, to our eternal resting place.

Musically, this piece emphasizes simplicity in form and harmony, reflecting a hymn-like reverence. Modest vocal ranges lend an

intimate, conversational tone, while a recurring melody creates a sense of both dwelling and movement. Through repetition, the music reinforces the idea that life itself is a journey, one where we are continuously welcomed as guests in people’s communities and the grand “inn” of Nature.

As the singers and audience journey together through this piece, may they reflect on their own role as travelers—embracing both the temporary pleasures and the lasting memories that give life its richness.