7 minutes
2010

A second commission from Paul Machlin and the Colby College Chorale produced this very different composition (cf. untitled work for choir [2008]). A simple “choral kaleidoscope,” the focus here is on nothing other than the pure beauty of the choral sound—presented in undulating, polyrhythmic “vocal cells” that shift, overlap, and align in myriad combinations. The whole plays freely with concepts of musical symmetry—both horizontal and vertical. Like so many things, the “drum” and “bells” are both practical and beautiful.