Because you Sang, Arianne Abela

​

"Who will bear this burden?
What harbinger of spring
Will weather storm and clamor
And living future, bring?
Fortified, and boundless,
With voice unwavering
Because you sang I sing, I sing
Because you sang, I sing

Armored with each other
Though newly had you met
Sounding ever outwards,
For souls not entered yet
Louder yet the uproar
Against oppression’s sting
Because you sang I sing, I sing
Because you sang, I sing

A choir of a thousand
Distinguished woven parts
Perfect in its union
Of common beating hearts
I’ll add my voice, my vigor
The song you raised will ring
Because you sang I sing, I sing
Because you sang, I sing"

​

Program notes:

Composed by current Director of Choral Activities of Amherst College in Amherst, MA, Because you Sang is a powerful anthem to the strength of communal singing. Dr. Abela beautifully sets the text by Ruthie Prillaman through modal inflections and simple, yet impactful, canonic counterpoint. Written for the 50th anniversary of the Yale Glee Club, this part song honors those who have sung before us and raised their voices through hardship and adversity to pave the way for future generations to achieve their dreams.

 

Above Their Heads, Dane A Carten

​

"Who spilled these stars across the sky like sparkling dust, like clouds of light?

 

They pour their milky shine into the deep black bowl above their heads

 

White

glittering

too many to

count"

​

Program notes:

Composed by Neoteric director/founder Dane A. Carten, this work was inspired by the photos released by the James Webb Telescope in July of 2022. The pointillistic stars, fantastical colors, and mystical unknowability of our unfathomably large universe can be heard in the setting of “The Milky Way” by 20th century poet Barbara Juster Esbensen. Ostinati beneath flowing, but rhythmically antagonistic, melody represent the confounding of our existence and place within a chaotic cosmos. The colorful harmonies and cathartic adagio section represent the spirit of human ingenuity and scientific discovery; as we continue to probe deeper into the abyss above our heads, so too do we realize how little is known and how much there is to explore.

 

Puncha Puncha, Tzvi Sherf

​

Puncha, Puncha, la rosa huele

Que l'amor muncho duele

Tu no nacites para mi

Presto alexate de mi

Presto alexate de mi

 

Acodrate d'aquella hora

que yo te bezava la boca

Aquella hora ya pasó

dolor quedó al corazón

Dolor quedó al corazón

 

Muntañas altas y mares hondas,

llevame onde'l mi querido,

llevame onde'l mi amor.

El que me dé consolación

El que me dé consolación

​

Program notes:

Israeli composer Tvzi Sherf completed this work in 2008 for his vocal group the Coral Vocal Ensemble, arranging and reworking a Jewish-Spanish (Ladino) folk tune. The poetry expresses fervent rejection of a lover once spurned, which Sherf explores through his own idiom of colorful harmony and text expression. Sherf’s style blends jazz, pop, blues, folk, and classical, with Puncha Puncha lending deep credence to his jazz stylings. Leaning on dissonant harmonies and pained melodic expression, this part song makes a powerful statement on the loss of love.

 

Train Stopping, W. Aaron Rice

​

"This is a southbound L train,

and the next stop is fourteenth Union square.

You better stand clear of the loading platform

You better stand clear! (stand clear, of the closing doors!)

​

Hello,

You oughta know;

To never go on to the tracks for any reason.

Even if you've dropped something important

We can help you get it back.

You better stand clear! (stand clear, of the closing doors!)

​

I said stand clear of the doors! Get out of the way! They're closing!

​

There is a manhattan-bound local four train,

Oh yes there is.

Five minutes away (it's five minutes from here)

​

You can wait! Stand clear!

​

And please offer your seat to passengers with disabilities or those who are elderly or pregnant 

You'll be standing up for what's right! Don't be an a**hole!

​

This is the last stop on this train (last stop on this train).

Everyone get off of this train (get off of this train).

​

Esteemed passengers, thank you for riding with Neoteric Chamber Choir transit

Thank you! Stand clear!

​

and uh...mind the gap!"

​

Program notes: 

Born of a joke between conductor Dane A Carten and composer W. Aaron Rice, this gospel-inspired piece is a lighthearted jaunt through what one would experience over the loudspeaker of a train station. The refrain reads: “stand clear…of the closing doors” with the soloist acting as an employee in the verses declaiming train directions and safety debriefing. Train Stopping utilizes straightforward four-five-one harmony, choral homophony, rhythmically driven piano accompaniment, and a gospel/pop-oriented tenor soloist with ad libitum sections to accomplish a fun and raucous setting of this unconventional text.