Impermanence (with amplified ensemble; choral score)

• Jonah 2: 4-10; & poem by Rochelle Jewel Shapiro
• Mixed chorus, 6-part divisi; & amplified ensemble (flute db. piccolo, alto saxophone, electric guitar, electric bass, piano db. synthesizer, violin, & cello)
• Challenging (professional chorus)
• Duration: ca. 11 min.

This work juxtaposes a setting of Rochelle Jewel Shapiro’s poem The fireflies have barely winked their neon green with that of Jonah’s prayer from inside the whale (in colloquial English).  The men and women of the chorus are divided, with the men singing the biblical text and the women singing Shaprio’s poem.  The alternating men’s and women’s voices inhabit different sound worlds at first, singing in different textures and modes, and they gradually come closer together without ever merging.  “Impermanence” was premiered by C4: the Choral Composer/Conductor Collective and the Fireworks Ensemble in 2012. (A version for chorus and organ was premiered in 2012.)