Jake Runestad Music LLC

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Available now in a new edition, this piece is an exploration of the effects that can be produced with the human voice, featuring original words that achieve a variety of colors mixed and matched throughout the ensemble to produce a diverse sonic landscape. Effects similar to flangers, wah-wah pedals, drum, bass, and synthesizers turn the choir into a full-fledged vocal orchestra.

Nyon Nyon

SATB Octavo divisi, or SSAATTBB

Designed to be a vehicle for storytelling as well as for developing compassion for the stories and lives of others, this setting of a Tagore text playfully journeys through the mind of a young person wishing to be known in a wild, wonderful world. Lyrical melodies and closely set harmonies are supported with an active piano accompaniment that brings the motion of a boat gently rocking on the sea.

Paper Boats

SATB Octavo

Winner of the 2014 Nathan Davis Prize in Composition.
The words of poet, activist, community-builder, and farmer, Wendell Berry, serve as the inspiration for “The Peace of Wild Things.” Berry’s appreciation for the larger circle of existence is evident in this text that explores humanity’s relationship with the earth. When we are so caught up in our human-centered existence, Berry reminds us how the wild things around us “do not tax their lives with forethought of grief.” My attempt to illuminate Berry’s words begins with swells of anxious, clustered harmony that give way to the basses, the lowest and darkest voices of the choir, who chant the opening lines, “When despair for the world grows in me…” Throughout the work, the musical gestures and harmonies rise and lighten until the highest voice, the sopranos, close the piece on the word “free.” The piano provides an earthly palette throughout, underscoring the scene at the edge of a mountain lake.

The Peace of Wild Things

"Good Night, My Love" is a lullaby for peace and contentment, inspired by the poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar -- one of the foremost American poets of the later 19th century.

Good Night My Love

Though originally written for Choral Arts Northwest, this work took on a new life in light of theNovember 2015 atrocities in Paris and Beirut. Jonathan Talberg, the conductor of the choir at Cal State Long Beach, led his singers in a performance during the memorial vigil for Nohemi Gonzalez, a Long Beach student who was killed in the Paris attacks. The day after the vigil, the choir was supposed to begin rehearsing holiday music; however, Jonathan felt that was not appropriate and wanted time for the singers to grieve this loss. So, at the beginning of rehearsal, he passed out this brand-new piece of music, rehearsed it, and then recorded it. It was posted on SoundCloud and shared in memory of Nohemi and as a plea for peace. Their musical offering is a powerful outpouring of grief but also a glimmer of light.

Let My Love Be Heard

"Please Stay" is an anthem for hope -- an attempt to destigmatize mental illness and challenge all of us to support those who are battling depression and thoughts of suicide. You are not alone. We can make a difference. We can be the support system that saves a life.

Please Stay

A rhythmically-driving and energetic setting of words by famed suffragist Susan B. Anthony, "Rise Up" is a rousing call to action.

Rise Up

SSAA Octavo

Through history, the singing of “alleluia” has served as an outward celebration as well as an introspective expression of praise. The work begins with a rhythmic declaration of joy and builds intensity through metric changes, tonal shifts, glissandi, and hand clapping. This lively exultation soon gives way to a reverent meditation with soaring melodic lines and lush harmonies. The dancing rhythms from the beginning return with a gradual build in intensity as one’s praises rise to the sky.

Alleluia

After a difficult time in his life, German Aguilar wrote this poem — a plea to the power of song and weathering the storms of life. German died of a massive aneurism in the middle of a concert, while he was singing, and I can’t move beyond that image and the meaning it brings to these words. Life is not easy, and is never perfect, but there is so much beauty and joy to be found in song.

Your Soul Is Song

My sister was an English teacher at the Minnesota International Middle School in Minneapolis which provides a safe and inclusive environment for East African immigrant students to learn (many of whom are Somali). Most of these students came to the USA to escape the violent civil war that has plagued Somalia since 1991. Seeking a better life for their children, these students’ parents risked their lives to come to the USA - a valiant act of love. I wanted to tell their story through music and so I asked my sister to have her students write poems about their experiences leaving their home and coming to the USA. I received over 100 poems that contain passion, pride, emotion, and vivid stories of the sights and sounds that these young people have experienced. I sifted through these texts and found the powerful words of 14-year-old Warda Mohamed that became the backbone of the composition. Using Warda’s poem and two Somali proverbs, “We Can Mend the Sky” is a musical depiction of one’s journey as an immigrant and an affirmation of hope as we all embrace the diversity around us.

We Can Mend the Sky

"Come to the Woods” explores John Muir's inspirations and the transporting peace found in the natural world. Using a collage of fragments from Muir’s writings, the work ventures from the boisterous joy of a "glorious day," to the quiet whispering of wind, to the rejuvenating power of a storm, to the calming "amber light" when the clouds begin to clear. I hope it captures the self-discovery and sustenance one encounters while exploring the outdoors and its vital importance in our lives. As Muir writes, "I only went out for a walk, and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in."

Come to the Woods

The work begins with the string quartet playing a descending sequence of a single musical interval — the perfect fourth. This interval appears throughout the work as a musical motive but also a sign post; acting as a sort of character or embodiment of love. The string quartet, soloists, and chorus serve equal roles throughout the work in bringing these mystical words to life. In each of the six movements, I have endeavored to capture various ways we, as humans, respond to and act on our idea of love; hopefully creating opportunities for introspection and realization.
Love is our most valuable resource, our most precious possession, our doorway into fostering compassion. May you consider these texts and this music with an open mind and ask yourself, “to whom can I give more love in my life?” For it is through love, both given and received, that our world can change.
"Wild Forces" is the second movement of "The Hope of Loving" and may be performed on its own, with piano or with string quartet.

Wild Forces

The work begins with the string quartet playing a descending sequence of a single musical interval — the perfect fourth. This interval appears throughout the work as a musical motive but also a sign post; acting as a sort of character or embodiment of love. The string quartet, soloists, and chorus serve equal roles throughout the work in bringing these mystical words to life. In each of the six movements, I have endeavored to capture various ways we, as humans, respond to and act on our idea of love; hopefully creating opportunities for introspection and realization.

The Hope of Loving

SATB Choral Score

Runestad has brought his full array of dramatic understanding and compositional skill; A Silence Haunts Me sounds more like a self-contained monologue from an opera than a traditional choral piece. Runestad, who has published three operas to date, shows his flair for melding music with text even more dramatically than in familiar settings like Let My Love Be Heard and Please Stay. He sets the poetry with an intense, emotional directness and uses some of Beethoven’s own musical ideas to provide context. Stitched into the work are hints at familiar themes from the Moonlight Sonata, the 3rd, 6th, and 9th Symphonies, and Creatures of Prometheus, but they are, in Runestad’s words, “filtered through a hazy, frustrated, and defeated state of being.”
In wrestling with Beethoven, with legacy, and with loss, Runestad has done what he does best—written a score where the poetry creates the form, where the text drives the rhythm, where the melody supports the emotional content, and where the natural sounding vocal lines, arresting harmony, and idiomatic accompaniment — in this case, piano in honor of Beethoven — come together to offer the audience an original, engaging, thoughtful, and passionate work of choral art.
Program note by Dr. Jonathan Talberg (please credit this writer in all programs and other media).

A Silence Haunts Me

Lalla, a 14th century Sufi-mystic poet from the Kashmir region of India, believed strongly in the development of the self while reaching enlightenment. The metaphor of dancing while feeling free or naked exemplifies the beauty of empowerment and self-worth. This work uses influences of Classical Indian music and other vocal effects to allow Lalla’s message to come to life.

Sing Wearing the Sky

One of the joys of composing is to create sound combinations in hopes of finding something completely original! The voice can make a variety of sounds from traditional Western singing styles to overtone singing, vocal percussion, and many more. I find the use of these sounds and techniques to be exhilarating - especially when they are grouped together, overlapped, mixed and matched, and put into the context of a choir! “Ner Ner," commissioned by the Wooster Chorus, was written to reflect the energy of this dynamic ensemble by giving them the opportunity to vocally express their infectious joy and diverse membership. This work is dedicated to the memory of Molly Bennett, a former member of the Wooster Chorus, whose joyful spirit, searing wit, and loving heart were an integral part of this beautiful community.

Ner Ner

Bounding with salsa-influenced music and Latin percussion, "El Aire Baila" (The Air Dances) takes cues from Ak'abal's playful poem to paint a colorful journey into the poet's imagination and the swirling air around us.

El Aire Baila

SATB Octavo divisi with Solo

Ritual is a rhythmically-driving sonic narrative that uses a created language for colorful timbral effects. The title alludes to societal rituals that persist for the sake of tradition, but necessitate deeper reflection and reconsideration. The drums and chorus rage with a gritty intensity, while a lone soloist offers a softer, more thoughtful perspective. Despite the soloist's attempt at change, their voice is ultimately overtaken by the power of tradition and the chorus and drums drown out any alternative perspective.
The work should be approached with an earthy, unrefined, primal quality, and lots of grittiness and rhythmic intensity. Engage in a deep, supported, grounded sound — on the verge of a roar!

Ritual

With text by Walt Whitman, Proud Music of the Storm (2017) was commissioned by the Dallas Symphony Chorus in celebration of their 40th Anniversary season. It had its world premiere on October 8, 2017 conducted by Joshua Habermann, and in June 2018 was premiered in an orchestral version with instrumentation matching that of Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms. More than just shared instrumentation connects Bernstein’s 1965 choral work with Runestad’s new one: both are songs of praise, and praise of music. Compare, for instance, the opening text of the Chichester Psalms from Psalm 108 (“Awake, psaltery and harp: I will rouse the dawn!”) with Walt Whitman’s lyrical second stanza of “Proud Music of the Storm” (“Ah, from a little child, / Thou knowest, Soul, how to me all sounds became music”).
In Runestad’s words, his piece is an “ode to all sounds that make up Whitman’s world and how they inspired him to create.” Nature is a recurring and important theme for the composer, who finds great meaning in “connecting with trees and plants and water and rocks,” and who infuses his love of the outdoors into his music by selecting texts that exalt the natural world and advocate for its protection. Because Whitman’s poem is an ode to the sounds that comprise our world, from nature to music, the composer wanted the piece to sound familiar to listeners. The middle section, for instance, is a lullaby. In the orchestral version of the work, a glockenspiel recalls the sound of a child’s music box, and if you listen carefully, you can hear an homage to Johannes Brahms’s famous lullaby.
Program note by Leah G. Weinberg, PhD. Please credit this author with any reproductions of this note.

Proud Music of the Storm

With soaring, overlapping lines like the warmth of ocean waves, this meditation on beauty was inspired by a magical night in the Mediterranean Sea in Spain and reminds us to savor every moment.

Beauty Is Life

SATB Octavo divisi

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