SEA-THEMED CHORAL MUSIC

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MEDITATIONS OVER SHORE

for soli, choir and small ensemble

Duration:

14 minutes

Instrumentation:

soli (SATB), double chamber choir, double large choir,harmonica, percussion (2) and piano

Year Composed:

1997

Text:

mainly vocalize, with one sentence from a poem by H.N. Bialik

Language:

Vocalize, Hebrew

Written For:

Tamara Brooks

Premiere Performance:

22 April, 1998,
Boston, MA, USA
The New England Conservatory Chamber Singers and Chorus
Mike Turk, harmonica
Eliko Akahori, piano
Jessica Cooper, Timur Rubinshteyn, percussion
Tamara Brooks, conductor

CONTEMPORARY CHORAL MUSIC

THEMES:

NATURE

MEMORY

OCEAN

LONGING

VIEW SCORE

LISTEN

Program Notes:

Meditations Over Shore is a one-day journey along the shore. Being far from my homeland, many memories of the shore on the other side of the ocean came to mind. While walking along the shore, one can hear the murmur of the waves, buoy bells, rain, and foghorns – all of which found their way into the score. For most of the piece, the soloists and chorus do not sing text but rather breathe and hum. I decided to use only one line of text, taken from a poem by H.N. Bialik, one of Israel’s most important poets: "Me’ever La-Yam" (Beyond the sea).

For the premiere of Meditations Over Shore, I used buoy bells borrowed from the Rhode Island Coast Guard. If buoy bells are difficult to obtain, other kinds of bells (without clappers), metal plates, or small tam tams may be substituted.

Meditations Over Shore was written for conductor Tamara Brooks and the New England Conservatory Chamber Singers and Chorus.

LISTEN

VIEW SCORE