Description
Published by Graphite Publishing
This piece was a collaboration between hip-hop artist Dessa and composer Jocelyn Hagen. Written for a festival of over 600 high school singers and players, the choir and orchestra parts are suitable for young musicians.
Performed by VocalEssence Chorus and Ensemble Singers, Tesfa Wondemagegnehu, conductor.
Perusal Scores
Text
We’re born with a fuse
timed to ignite
It burns through our youth
then sets us alight
for a while
And when we’re older
we’ll laugh and say that we were only kids
but no one gets closer to the burn of love and loss than this
When the fires pass over
all you’ll recall
is the ash on your shoulders
some lines on your palm
The world’s made in motion
we’re carried along;
the current won’t hold for long
If you could stand your younger selves behind you
then turn and walk the line,
how many strangers might surprise you,
too changed by time to recognize
When the fires pass over
all you’ll recall
is the ash
on your shoulders
some lines on your palm
Memory relents
like rain melts the limestone
the years that you spent
in flame seem so strange now
– Dessa
Performance Notes
The piece is available in SSA and SATB voicings and can be performed with either a small chamber ensemble or an orchestra.
Instrumentation
SSA OR SATB choir and mixed chamber ensemble
2 flutes, 2 clarinets in Bflat, 1 bassoon
2 horns, 2 trumpets in Bflat, 1 trombone
2 percussionists, harp, piano
1 violin, 1 cello, 1 double bass
SSA or SATB choir and orchestra (parts suitable for high school players)
2 flutes, 1 oboe, 1 english horn, 2 clarinets in Bflat, 1 bass clarinet, 1 bassoon
4 horns, 3 trumpets in Bflat, 3 trombones,
1 euphonium, 1 tuba
STRINGS