THIS BREATHLESS EARTH

Combining lush harmony with accessible extended vocal techniques (ex. speaking, pitch glissandos), THIS BREATHLESS EARTH, is a dramatic meditation on anxiety and peace, rooted in the biblical narrative of Christ's death, and relevant today's mental health conversations. Based on a poem by Malcolm Guite, this work opens with agitated breathing and speaking, progresses into gorgeous singing, and ends with the choir breathing in (pitch-less) unison. This is a challenging work with tremendous payoff, an excellent choice for college choirs and uniquely appropriate for Spring or Easter concerts. From the composer, "Having witnessed panic attacks in close family members, and hearing the stories of friends who persevered through various levels of coronavirus infection, I wanted to create a dramatic choral work that would address the fear and anxiety of such experiences. This Breathless Earth, an imaginative unpublished poem by English poet Malcolm Guite, provides a fitting text and moves the reader toward hope by inviting us to empathize with the anxiety which overcame the first-century disciples immediately following the death of Christ...It's my hope that both performer and audience might experience a healing catharsis as they experience this music's movement from agitated gasping to confident, calm breathing."