Prayer for Peace

This piece represents what I hear and envision when I think about the collective praying and/or wishing for peace around the world. As you can imagine, this ongoing prayer is not always completely harmonious--probably not most of the time. Some pray louder, others pray softer. Some pray faster, others pray slower. Having said all of that, do not be in a rush to end the piece. Take as much time as you need on each of the chords in sections A and B. The breve notes should not be sung for their literal duration--hold them out until the next chord and make sure they line up with the soprano solo as written. The fermattas are only strong suggestions. Sections C and D are even more flexible. In section C, any of the staffs can be sung by anyone in the choir as fast or slow as desired for at least 3 minutes. These sections will sound different every time you sing them...and that's OK! That's because the collective prayer for peace never sounds the exact same, anyway. Forget about trying to replicate what you've done before--just let your imagination take over. Section D is the same as section C, except it is not timed and is repeated until the choir gradually fades out to complete silence. How long should this take? You decide. Does the silence represent this prayer being answered? You decide. Every attempt to sing this piece is honest, and true, and valid. There is no wrong way to perform it as long as the music is interpreted the way you believe it should be. Record yourself doing this piece once, or multiple times. Listen back to the recordings. Which one do you believe best represents the global prayer for peace, and why? Most importantly, enjoy the process and have fun with this.