Fear (Becoming the Ocean) | Juhi Bansal | MusicSpoke

Program notes

Times of change can be intimidating; there is something frightening about standing at the foot of the unknown. Behind us lies something we know and recognize, ahead – something daunting, formless, immense.

Poets throughout history have written about that moment of hesitation just before a change, when we hold our fragile hopes and look for the courage to confront whatever is to come. Perhaps – like Gibran’s river –we too are more powerful than we think. Perhaps, if we are just brave enough, our hopes too can transform whatever comes.

Written for Choral Arts Initiative, Conductor Brandon Elliott, June 2023

Fear

…a river trembles with fear. she sees an ocean so vast, that to enter seems nothing more than to disappear.

But there is no other way. The river cannot go back.

The river needs to take the risk of entering the oceanonly then will the river know it’s not about disappearing into, but becoming the ocean.

(Khalil Gibran)

Duration – 4 minutes

Copyright ©2023 Juhi Bansal Music

Notes to the conductor

• Two audio recordings are included in addition to this score to illustrate the ornamentation in the two soprano solos, please make sure these are forwarded to the soloists.

Notation

• Gestures shown between two brackets [ ] are to be out of sync within a section, they will sound like a smearing across of the given pitches rather than clean motion. All voices begin together crisply (in time) on the first note of the smear, but then move at their own pace - some much faster, some much slower - through the rest of the gesture. White notes are generally intended to be longer than black notes, but do not indicate any specific rhythm.

Barlines within a bracket (as above) are only for ease of following the rest of the ensemble, they do not indicate any kind of alignment within the unsynced/smeared part.

• Smaller sized notes are occasionally used in the vocal solos (e.g. mm 10, solo soprano). These indicate a lighter weighting than normal-sized notes, like ornaments.

• All glissandi are extremely long and completely fluid, sliding into the arrival note with absolutely no rearticulation. It should sound like the first note melts slowly and seamlessly into the second. When sliding between pitches in a given rhythm, take the entirety of the rhythmic value to slide. Occasionally, glissando noteheads are used to clarify the rhythm (as in the passage below from mm 33):

• The ending of the piece features a vocalization to sound like ocean foam. Focused on a “ssh” sound, the pitch moves from high to low, as marked by the placement of arrows on the staff. When given an indication to raise the pitch on "ssh", purse your lips, slowly, gradually morphing the mouthshape as if producing an "ooh" vowel (still blowing to produce “ssh)”. It should feel almost as if you were whistling, bringing out the higher partials of the sound.

Text by Khalil Gibran

Music by Juhi Bansal

Round and flowing (lean into the disonnance)

Round and flowing (lean into the disonnance)

(*dramatic diminuendo while glissing and all the way through the fermata) (very long)

S.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                  5 This score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.

the

A.

T. B.

the

p river-cannot-goback, mmm river-cannot-goback, mmm

p

S.

41 40

(stagger breathing)

poco a poco cresc.

river-cannot-goback, oh

A.

Theri

T. B.

Pno.

p river-cannot-goback,

the

poco a poco cresc. ver-can-not-goback, theriver-can-not-goback, the

Theri

poco a poco cresc. ver- cannot- go,the poco a poco cresc.

A.

T.

B. Pno.

S.

A.

T.

B. Pno.

river-can-not-goback, theriver-can-not-goback, theriver-can-not-goback, the river- cannot- go,theriver- canriver- cannot- go,theriver- can-



f river-cannot-go back

  

the

f river-cannot-go back

ff ff              

ff ppp 47 46

(very long)

    

(very long)

ff ppp notgo, the

f river-cannot-go back,

      ppp                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             6 This score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.

f river-cannot-go back            

ff ppp notgo, the

               3          3                                                                                                                                                                        7 This score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.

Gaining momentum q = 90-100

willtheriver-know mf  

T.            

p river-needs totaketherisk ofenter-ing-theocean,pp p ah ah

p p ah p

minimal vibrato (no vibrato if possible)

Solo S.1

minimal vibrato (no vibrato if possible)

Solo S2.

Unsynced, smear (stagger breathing)

Unsynced, smear

(*If solo soprano sings the ossia, play that melody instead)

one by one leave the tie and join the rising ssh...

one by one leave the tie and join the low-pithed ssh...

one by one leave the tie and join the rising ssh...

Solo