Unfolding Chants

Instrumentation: 2 sopranos (amplified), 1 flute (doubles piccolo, 1 oboe, 1 B-flat clarinet, 1 saxophone (soprano and alto), 1 horn, 1 C trumpet, 1 trombone, 3 percussion, 1 piano, 3 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos, 1 bass

World Premiere: Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival; Brad Lubman (conductor); July 31, 2017; Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art

Duration: 7 minutes

Program notes down below

Program Notes:

I wrote Unfolding Chants as a composer at Bang on a Can’s Summer Music Festival at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. I composed Unfolding Chants for chamber orchestra and two sopranos. Whereas solo singers require pauses and breaks to avoid tiring their voices, with two sopranos, I envisioned the singers unifying together to create one endless melody. The chamber orchestra continues the sopranos’ melody, extending it further into lower and higher registers.