Ed Frazier Davis I Will Ride
for chorus div. a 8 (SSAATTBB) a cappella
Performance duration: ca. 6½ min
Commissioned by IL-ACDA and the William Ferris Chorale for winning the 2024 IL-ACDA Composer Award. Dedicated to the memory of Anna Maria Martinez.
Copyright © 2025 Ed Frazier Davis (ASCAP). All Rights Reserved. EFD0075 Distributed digitally through MusicSpoke.
Program Notes :
The poem I’ve set for I Will Ride, full of evocative imagery and beautifully written by Alejandra Martinez, is loosely inspired by the 2022 discovery of an 8,000 year old child’s grave in eastern Finland the presence of the child’s teeth, bird feather fragments, plant fibers, and canine hairs provided archaeologists a rare glimpse into the ornate, ritualistic way Stone Age humans in that part of the world treated their dead. The poem is told from the perspective of this child as he, Valkyrie-like, rides heroically “astride the strident gales” and “on the back of a beast untamed” through the infinite expanse of the afterlife, finally liberated from the hardships of Stone Age life
My setting follows the structure of Alejandra’s poem very closely. After a muted, dissonant introduction on the repeated word “I,” meant to evoke the gradual awakening of the child’s dormant spirit, the piece begins in earnest with a jaunty and energetic “A” section, characterized by a bouncing 7/8 meter and what I consider “bright” harmonies, which covers the poem’s first six lines. Then, shifting our perspective from the afterlife back to the child’s mortal “cradle” (i.e. the grave itself), there is a darker, more introspective “B” section, full of chromatic voice leading and crunchy harmonies, which covers the next seven lines Finally, the piece ends with a triumphant return to the “A” section for the remaining ten lines, in which the music gradually builds to the final, ecstatic climax on the final iteration of the words that joyously pervade this piece: “I will ride!”
EFD
Full Text:
I will ride!
I, child prince of the hereafter, Astride the strident gales
Sighed as welkin’s winter woes Are blown across the countryside I will ride!
My cradle cut into the hummock deep, Was deep as a song, Green as tomorrow, Unseen as the ochre-kiss Laid soft upon my cheek.
Do I sleep? Do I abide?
I will ride!
I, child prince of the hereafter, On the back of a beast untamed, My hands hold fast, my fingers ‘twined In its hoary mane like a thing combined Bounding unbounded, Fleet and free,
Let all stand astounded In sight of me
I will ride!
Alejandra Martinez (2024)
Cover image: Tom Björklund
Text by ALEJANDRA MARTINEZ
Music by ED FRAZIER DAVIS for chorus div. a 8 a cappella Commissioned by IL-ACDA and the William Ferris Chorale for winning the 2024 IL-ACDA Composer Award. Dedicated to the memory of Anna Maria Martinez.
I Will Ride
Poco adagio (q = c. 70), as if waking fom a deep slumber
Poco adagio (q = c. 70), as if waking fom a deep
* Gradually glissando down an octave from beat 3 of m. 16 to beat 1 of m. 20, all the while diminuendoing from forte to piano; try to keep the chord as uniform as possible throughout the glissando, but this is not strictly required. This score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.
& V ? ? &
* From mm. 21-47, Tenors and Basses are to divide as evenly as possible into three parts—Tenor/Baritone/Bass. "Baritone" does not mean divided Basses, but rather approximately the bottom third of the Tenors and the top third of the Basses.
* A guttural, primal accent, semi-shouted; it is totally fne—expected, even—if the pitch wavers here.
* Quickly glissando down almost immediately on beat 1 of m. 44 to a non-distinct pitch, cutting of the note and placing the [d] of "sighed" on beat 3; more a "fall" than a proper glissando.
* Normal Tenor/Bass divisi resumes.
This score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.
* Over the course of approximately 10-12 seconds, all singers gradually glissando down to a unison D, all the while diminuendoing from fortissimo to piano. Each singer's glissando should be at roughly, but not exactly, the same speed as those of others in their section; it's fne if some singers arrive at the D earlier than others. This score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.
* Whenever there is an arrow pointing to a nasal consonant like this, it means to gradually close to it over the course of the indicated note length; in this case, gradually close to an [m] over the course of one half note triplet, and hold the [m] for one quarter note triplet. This score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.
cheek.
Tempo III (q = c. 60), introspective, shimmering
Tempo III (q = c. 60), introspective, shimmering
Same as in mm. 16-20 (but with diferent pitches in the Sopranos, of course).
& & V ? ? & ?
Same as in m. 32.
& V ? ? &
Tenor/Bass divisi resumes.
& & V ? &
Old Irving Park, Chicago December 9, 2024 – January 4, 2025