No!
Program note
With Momenta I try to describe an irreplaceable moment in time. A moment in which something starts and at the same time something ends.
More info
No! is a composition for female choir (s,m,a). It was commissioned by Dutch Choir Music Now during the covid-19 period of 2020 when a lot of dutch composers struggled to get commissions.
Momenta contains out of two movements. The overall harmonic foundation of the composition is based upon the overtone series of the notes E0 and A0. The last movement ends with two 6 voice chords which are completely based upon these overtones.
The lyrics are by Thomas Hood :
No sun—no moon!
No morn—no noon—
No dawn—
No sky—no earthly view—
No distance looking blue—
No road—no street—no "t'other side the way"—
No end to any Row—
No indications where the Crescents go—
No top to any steeple—
No recognitions of familiar people—
No courtesies for showing 'em—
No knowing 'em!
No traveling at all—no locomotion,
No inkling of the way—no notion—
"No go"—by land or ocean—
No mail—no post—
No news from any foreign coast—
No park—no ring—no afternoon gentility—
No company—no nobility—
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member—
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds,
November!
Details
Instrumentation
8 Soprano voices
8 Mezzo-soprano voices
8 Alto voices
Lyrics by
Thomas Hood
Duration
3'
Date
2020
Commissioned
Dutch Choir Music Now
Sheet music
Available at:
Dutch Chor Music Now
or at: Sonic Art Publishing
First performance
To be determined
Performed by
To be determined