What if…

What if, Op. 14, no.3

SATB, a cappella

Duration: 5’30″

Text by Marjory Heath Wentworth from The Endless Repetition of an Ordinary Miracle (c) 2010

This piece was commissioned in honor of the dedication of the Kadel Vocal Arts Hall and dedicated to Miss Arline Kadel.  It was premiered on October 14, 2011 at the Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory by Dr. Dirk Garner and the Baldwin-Wallace College and Motet Choirs.

From the composer:

When Dirk contacted me in the summer of 2011 about a commission, his first words were, “My administration wants a flash-mob in reverse.”  I wasn’t sure what I would write but I was excited for the opportunity to work with Dirk again.  I visited him in June and we settled on the poem “What if” by Marjory Wentworth.  I’ve used Marjory’s poems before and I love her use of language.  This particular text is special because Marjory told me about it when I met her in Charleston the summer of 2010.  She said that it was a new style for her that incorporated visual pauses.  While Dirk and I were sitting outside talking about the poem, we could hear some birds calling to each other in a very musical way.  I decided to use this motive and the thematic phrase “what if” from the poem to create an aleatoric “flash-mob” opening to the piece.