Composer: Luke FlynnDetailsFormat: Mixed Choir - 5 voices or moreVoicing: SSAATTBBSolo Requirements: SAccompaniment: unaccompaniedNotation: standard & non-standard elementsNon-standard Notational Elements: ocean sounds, rubbing hands together, soft unvoiced blowingPerformance Length: 8:00 Study Scores & Audio FilesStudy Score & Audio Order Printed ScoresOrder site / Alternate source of score: https://musicspoke.com/downloads/beneath-the-wave/ Texts & TranslationsLanguage(s): JapaneseText Source: Luke FlynnText: nami ura nete imasu tadaima yamano ue mezameru watashiwa miru sakurawa sora ni egaku, ameno yoni okinamiwa watashitachino meni egaku furue rakka sai kouchiku suru Translation: Beneath the wave I am sleeping I am home. Above the mountains I am awake I watch. Cherry blossom rain Paints the sky, The great wave Paints our eyes Trembling, Falling, Rebuilding. Programming AidsPerformance Difficulty: difficultSeasonal Usage: Memorial ServicesMarchDescriptive Terms: threnodyemotionalwaternatural disasterasianAllow Excerpts: Composition is a single movementComposer’s Notes: Having entered Japan to study composition only a few days after the massive earthquake and tsunami disaster that occurred in March of 2011, I was able to witness firsthand the indescribable amount of pain and suffering that so many were put through. However, it was not just waters of destruction and sadness that swept the country; a wave of strength, endurance, and love guided the people of Japan to remain focused on what was important: recovering and helping one another. Beneath the Wave's title comes from Hokusai’s famous painting, The Great Wave. Next to Hokusai’s signature he has written three Japanese phrases, among them is "nami ura", which translates to English as "beneath the wave". In Hokusai’s painting there are 30 fishermen in boats, rowing fearlessly toward their demise, unafraid of the titan that nature has sent toward them while Mt. Fuji (representing heaven), in the center of the painting, watches over them. When writing the text, I tried to relate the events of March 2011 to some of the symbolism that can be found in Hokusai’s painting in a series of four correlating, non-standardized, Japanese haiku, known as gendai. May all of those who lost their lives on March 11, 2011 find eternal peace, and may all of their families and loved ones find solace in knowing that their loves ones sleep peacefully beneath the wave. Additional InformationDate of Completion: April, 2011Date of First Performance: Monday, August 8, 2011Premier Performance Data: Kagoshima Kokusai Daigaku Chorus (Luke Flynn, cond), International University of Kagoshima, JapanAdditional Performances: 2015: L.A. Choral Lab (Michael Alfera, cond), Los Angeles, CA. 2015: The International Haiku Association of Japan Convention, Japan.
