A VOICE IS HEARD IN RAMAH
SATB (div.) | Unaccompanied | 5'
3rd Place Winner | 4th International Competition for Choral Composition | IFCM
Through gut-wrenching harmonies, aleatory, and an emotive alto solo, A VOICE IS HEARD IN RAMAH tells story of biblical matriarch Rachel and her seemingly eternal vigil for the loss of her children and for the violence visited upon her descendants. At its heart, this piece is about the emotional exhaustion that comes from realizing we've been here before.
optional | A VOICE IS HEARD IN RAMAH concludes in an angrily despondent way and so may be followed in performance by EPILOGUE as a restorative catharsis.
EPILOGUE
SATB (div.) | Unaccompanied | 4.5'
EPILOGUE is meant to be a restorative catharsis following A VOICE IS HEARD IN RAMAH. The alto solo returns, supported by a delicately hypnotic choral ostinato and the piece concludes with a defiant, if somewhat cloying statement of "everlasting love."
EPILOGUE should not be included in the physical program. Simply let it happen as the inevitable result of what went before.
Wild, Unspoken
SATB (div.) | Tanpura & Timpano | 5.5'
Commissioned by Dr. Ethan Sperry for the Portland State Chamber Choir, "Wild, Unspoken" is a mash up of two texts by poet Marcelle Harlow that each speak to the beauty within and how, if would see it, that same powerful, volcanic beauty is enough to change it all.
Featuring elegiac and fiery themes accompanied by tanpura and timpani respectively, the entire work should be sung with the deepest conviction that love is love and people are beautiful.
A Meditation in Time of War
SATB (div.) | Piano & Tom-Tom | 5'
Though A Meditation in Time of War is a well known poem of W.B. Yeats, it is not often set to music. With slow, asymmetrical rhythms, juxtaposed idyllic and disillusioned language, extended piano techniques, and a tom-tom seemingly borrowed from a by-gone infantry unit, this work conjures images both elegiac and terrifying.
In a world perpetually at war with itself, this is truly a meditation, not on what brought us to this place or even what we do in the aftermath, but on who we are in the midst of never-ending conflict.
Quien ama la música
SATB (div.) | Handbells & Cymbal | 5.5'
Dedicated to the ISing Choir in commemoration of their 15th Anniversary, this work was originally written as a gift for their Artistic Director, Stephen Galván. However, with the cancellation of the Spring 2020 season due to the COVID-19 virus, ISing Choir came together, virtually and in secret, to perform it. Video of Maestro Galván from the last fifteen years was compiled to make it appear as though he was conducting and when completed, the final video and recording were presented to him during what would have been their concert weekend.
Featuring effusive, yet wistful harmonies, singing handbells, and two cascading soprano solos, Quien ama la música is an accessible and engaging anthem for all those who turn to music for solace and respite in dark times.