for a cappella SSATB chorus (2018)
Duration: [5:30]
Program Notes
I enjoyed writing this piece and did almost all of work away from any instruments. It was exciting to develop ideas, get a feeling for the pace of the text, and only play through it after the notes were written.
Based on the text, the music is split into four sections, each with a slightly different feel. The first and last section are set with a tenor soloist, and the middle stanzas allow the choir to open up a little. Still, text clarity is very important to me. I like the listener to know what words are being sung! The parts of the text that are speaking to the heart are my favorite. “Laugh heart.” “Sigh, heart.” These excerpts are the main “theme” of the piece and float around through the different voice parts until gradually fading away to nothing.
