SSA a cappella

2 min duration

Text by Rabindranath Tagore

Commissioned by the Chorus Niagara Children’s Choir. Amanda Nelli, director

This work consists of phrases which are woven together which allow for moments of intermingling and blossoming. The phrases grow larger and longer which reflects the ever changing landscape of what it means to live during Covid-19. The short phrases are winding, and use a lydian pitch collection to further suggest both stability and instability. The work uses canonic imitation to repeat gestures and fragments therein, there is also a juxtaposition of moving and unmoving – long durations that move slower than the pulsing quarters; this speaks to the images of the text, and the emotions that we may be facing while living during the pandemic. The third voice part is kept in the lower tessitura, while parts one and two utilize a larger vocal range.

Sit still my heart, do not raise your dust. Let the world find its way to you [190, Stray Birds] Rabindranath Tagore, in public domain