PROJECT : ENCORE™: SATB

 
Program Notes:
 

 
In this piece, I combined two musical contexts, which are Thai language and style and western harmony. It is very obvious that the texts are not in English, but it is written by using English characters to make it easier to read for non-native speakers. Furthermore, most of the melodic direction, scale, and rhythmic pattern are not in western style. On the other hand, in term of harmony, it is obvious that this piece is harmonize in western style by using chords and some counterpoints, which Thai music does not have these two elements.

This composition won first place in the 2007 Longfellow Chorus International Composers Competition.

Although Valley of Silence is a lengthy one movement work, there are various tempi, colors, and moods in the piece as they follow Rev. Ryan's post Civil War poem. This particular poem  is from Ryan's later writings and is sweeter yet more powerful compared to the earlier bitterness of his post war poems. The poem's message of blocking out the “noise” and busyness of our world applies even more today than the times after the Civil War.