Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

Work Overview

These choral arrangements, forming Collection One, are based on three songs from the music theatre production Bodysongs, produced by Theatreworks and Calculated Risks Opera Productions at Theatreworks, St Kilda, Victoria, 1999.

Exploring themes of body image and the aging process, the production was directed by Robert Draffin, with words by Humphrey Bower, and music by Richard Vella.

Each song can be performed in one of the following ways:

1. Perform as written for soloist, SATB choir and piano accompaniment. For 'Come with me' and 'Wings of death', the solo part suits lower register female voices or male voices with a tenor range. While the solo part for 'Got no right to complain' implies a female soloist, a male voice solo is possible with the changing of all pronouns to the third person (she and her), and their appropriate grammar.

2. Instead of the soloist singing the solo part in each song, the phrases from the solo part can be sung by anyone from the choir. The musical director would need to allocate each phrase from the solo part to specific individual choral member. Another possible version, following this approach, could be some type of interplay between the soloist and individual singers from the choir.

3. For solo voice and piano (the SATB parts are omitted).

Work Details

Year: , this version: 2024

Instrumentation: Solo female or male voice, SATB choir, piano.

Duration: 11 min.

Difficulty: Medium

Contents note: I. Come with me -- II. Got no right to complain -- III. Wings of death.