Composer: Catherine DaltonDetailsFormat: Mixed Choir - 4 voicesVoicing: SATBIncidental Divisi: S, A, BAccompaniment: percussion onlyInstrumentation: Tibetan hand chimesdjembehand chimesNotation: standard & non-standard elementsNon-standard Notational Elements: Alternative Notation, Improvisatory ElementsPerformance Length: 4:33 Study Scores & Audio FilesStudy Score & Audio Order Printed ScoresOrder site / Alternate source of score: www.CatherineDalton.net Texts & TranslationsLanguage(s): EnglishText Source: Kao Kalia Yang / Catherine DaltonText: NARRATION: My mother was three months pregnant when [their family] group was ambushed...The women were preparing a meager breakfast of soft-boiled yams...the men were guarding the perimeter of the family groups...some with guns and some with knives, others with nothing more than bamboo poles. Children were sitting around their mothers...My mother remembers a moment of stillness...before the smell of guns...filled the air...children ran after people they thought were their parents...the men tried to protect the women and children with their arms. They knew there would be no fighting back. Jagged pieces of broken mountain rained on them. The earth blew up in their faces. When the bullets started to fly and people were running in fear,...my mother walked...This to my father showed courage... CHOIR SINGS: na-kah-no see-ah-na lee-loh Ho-nah Ho-ah Ha-no See-a-no Ho-ah-na na no nee-ah ta na see-ta-na lee-loh Ba-dee-da Da-da Da-da Da-da Da-da Da Nya na na na Nee-a (other vocalizations) Programming AidsDescriptive Terms: couragehopepeacepowerwarAllow Excerpts: Composition is a single movementComposer’s Notes: As preparation for composing a piece commissioned by Global Harmony Community Chorus which would reflect the Hmong culture or immigrant experience, I read The Latehomecomer by Kao Kalia Yang. I was particularly drawn to the experience of her family group as they were first hiding from and then attacked by soldiers in Laos. Today will be warm: A Story Cloth in Sound evolved into a sonic soundscape sprung directly from envisioning the scenes Yang set forth in her writing. This soundscape took shape as phonemes and sounds, linked to melodic lines and graphic notation, arose during the composition process. The sounds are not meant to be a language, but to represent that which dwells in the space underneath language. In the end, although based on Yang’s memoir, the song it is a soundscape that represents the story of many people, at many different times in history, in many different places. It is about all who have suffered fear or pain because of their differences. Additional InformationDate of Completion: December, 2009Date of First Performance: Saturday, February 6, 2010Premier Performance Data: Global Harmony Community Chorus (Jennifer Anderson, cond), North Como Presbyterian ChurchAdditional Performances: 11/16/2010: Mahtomedi High School Choir (Robert Pontious, cond)
