Product Description
Winner of the 2021 Sandra Fivecoat Memorial Emerging Composer Contest, this work was premiered in Austin, TX by Inversion Ensemble at their season-opening concert, Through the Prism, on October 16, 2021.
Creating during the Covid pandemic had been tough. With an increasingly despondent mindset, I identified with, or drew courage from, the protagonist in Li Bais poem who discovers that, although alone, he is nevertheless among friends. Finding the momentum to complete this project, I whittled away many complex ideas in favor of a simple monophonic choral setting with occasional echoes from a ghostly small ensemble. Reflecting on what kind of new choral piece I wanted to hear, I decided that beautiful, sustained chords (with a good dose of crunchy seconds bounding off the architecture) were just the thing.
Music amplifies poetry. My hope is that this musical setting would invoke a dramatic poetry reading, as might be enjoyed in a hushed auditorium or around a campfire. In this setting, the choir is like the ancient Greek orator so well versed in the art of story-telling and image- making, and drawing out each word for a long, long time.
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