Work
Wherever they go : solo for shakuhachi and voice
by Anne Norman (2018)
Also known as: Unde quocumque
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Digital Audio Album
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Work Overview
Based on a short song by Hildegard von Bingen
Unde quocumque veninetes perrexerunt,
Velut cum gaudio celestis paradisi suscepte sunt,
Quia in religione morum, Honorifice apparuerunt.
Wherever they go in their wanderings,
they are greeted with joy, as in Heaven,
for their faith and honour are apparent.
The lyrics of this song probably refer to the apostles, but I feel it is about Hildegard, after the age of sixty, wandering Southern Germany on four preaching tours with her attendants. Being a happy wanderer myself, like many musicians, I am so grateful to those who host me.
I have used elements of Hildegard's melody and Latin lyrics, adding rhythmic interpretations and incidental overlapping harmonies while basically maintaining a medieval monophony. No one knows how fast Hildegard's songs were sung in the 12th century. My tempo indications do not imply a strict metre and durations are relative only. I have taken this work into the Zen-like meditation format of shakuhachi, basing the phrasing on arcing breaths and revelling in the answering resonance of stone churches for performance.
I first arranged and performed this music as a duet with soprano Deborah Kayser under the title Unde. That duo score is also available.
Work Details
Year: 2018
Instrumentation: Shakuhachi, with player's voice.
Duration: 5 min.
Difficulty: Advanced — involves some simultaneous singing and hocketing
First performance: by Anne Norman — 6 Jul 19. Uzura Gallery, Kyoto, Japan
Influenced by 12th Century chant.
Alternate title: Unde quocumque
Can also be performed as a duet with soprano and shakuhachi.
Videos
Wherever they go |
Performances of this work
4 Mar 2021: at The Spirited Life (Melbourne Recital Centre, Primrose Potter Salon). Featuring Six Degrees Ensemble.
6 Jul 19: Uzura Gallery, Kyoto, Japan. Featuring Anne Norman.
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