Chant (2015)

for Orchestra and Choir
EDIZIONI SUVINI ZERBONI-MILANO
3.3.3.3 / 4.4.4.1 / 1 Timb, 3 perc/ Hp / Pno / 14.12.10.8.6, Choeur (SATB)
AUDIO
SCORE

Commissioned by Philharmonie Essen,
Bochumer Sinfoniker
, Chorwerk Ruhr
 under direction of Florian Helgath

When I think of human voices, I am immediately reminded of a particularly intense childhood memory.
In my childhood, I often heard the voices of chanting Sutras. They were sung together by both Buddhists priests and the local old women.
The tempo and tunes sung by the old women were slightly different than those sung by the priests but still had the overall effect as being one powerful voice. The chanting of Sutras is in fact praying but for me, the singing and the praying were inseparable.
The human voice is the most direct medium for expressing ourselves.
I chose a poem for my piece by Rabindranath Tagore that describes praying.
The text portrayed for me a transformation from an introverted murmur to a release of freedom.
Following up on Tagore´s universe poem, I attempted to represent my image of praying using sound material such as voice vibration, deep sighing, and breathing which allows us to feel the warmth of life or indeed its clarity and coldness. In certain sections each singer spells out the words.
These individual moments overlap and produce considerable energy.

The idea that numerous microcosms (single people) construct a macrocosms appealed to me during my composition. A single note consists of a mixture of partials and apiece is an aggregate of single notes.
The image, - human´s praying which murmurs on the earth progressively changes its state gathering energy and raising to a higher level-, reminds me of the process of a fundamental tone that constantly transforms
therby revealing its partials and creating a rich sound cosmos.