Debris

Instrumentation SSATBarB choir a cappella

Timing ca. 4’15”

Composed 2018

Poem by Michael Redhill

World Premiere February 1, 2019, Dominion-Chalmers Church, Ottawa, Ontario. Nordic Voices and the Gryphon Trio (as part of Scar Tissue)

Programme Notes

For when I look at you,
     even a moment,      no

My God, how we all      swiftly
swiftly unwrap our lives.

Debris is an a cappella choral work taken from the large-scale Scar Tissue, written for Nordic Voices and the Gryphon Trio. In this meditative movement, the lines of poet Michael Redhill’s words break down and fragment. Similarly, in the music, the words are deconstructed, floating on a sea of vowels, the sounds tumbling over each other until they dissolve away into breath.

Debris is dedicated to Nordic Voices, who take my own breath away.

The original Scar Tissue was commissioned by the Gryphon Trio in partnership with Chamber Factory for Nordic Voices and the Gryphon Trio. It was made possible with support from Joyce Miller in honour of the Gryphon Trio’s 25th anniversary, the Canada Council for the Arts, and Dr. Glenn Prestwich and the Sounds of Science Commissioning Club.

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