Today will be warm: A Story Cloth in Sound

Description

A dramatic choral piece depicting an attack on a Hmong family in Laos following the Secret War

Text

The women were preparing a meager breakfast of soft-boiled yams…

… the men were guarding the perimenter of the family groups…
… some with guns and some with knives, others with nothing more than bamboo poles.

Children were sitting around their mothers.

My mother remembers a moment of stillness…
… before the smell of guns…filled the air…

…children ran after people they thought were their parents…
The men tried to protect the women and children with their arms.

They knew there would be no fighting back.

Jagged pieces of broken mountain rained on them.
The earth blew up in their faces.

When the bullets started to fly and people were running in fear, my mother walked…
This to my father showed courage…

Kao Kalia Yang

Kao Kalia Yang, from The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir

Used with permission

Program Notes

As preparation for composing a piece commissioned by Global Harmony Community Chorus which would reflect the Hmong culture or immigrant experience, I read The Latehomecomer by Kao Kalia Yang. I was particularly drawn to the experience of her family group as they were first hiding from and then attacked by soldiers in Laos. Today will be warm: A Story Cloth in Sound evolved into a sonic soundscape sprung directly from envisioning the scenes Yang set forth in her writing. This soundscape took shape as phonemes and sounds, linked to melodic lines and graphic notation, arose during the composition process. The sounds are not meant to be a language, but to represent that which dwells in the space underneath language. In the end, although the song is based on Yang’s memoir, it is a soundscape that represents the story of many people, at many different times in history, in many different places. It is about anyone who has suffered fear or pain because of their differences.

Performance Notes

Today will be warm uses a variety of voiced and unvoiced phonemes as well as sounds based on graphic notation. See the information below for guidance in saying and singing these sounds.

• “Sh,” “Ch” and “Th” are the unvoiced phonemes. To know if you are saying these correctly, place your hand on your throat directly over your vocal chords and say the phoneme. If you are saying it correctly, you will not be
able to feel a vibration.

• “Hah” and “Da” in measures 65-67 are the only partially voiced phonemes. These sounds should begin in the diaphragm and be voiced somewhere between a whisper and a fully voiced sound.

• The table below is a guide to the pronunciation of the fully voiced phonemes.

letter | IPA | as in

a or ah | [ɑ] | la

ee | [i] | be

oo | [u] | too

o or oh | [o] | toe

• At rehearsal letter D, the score calls for a small group to help create a sense of chaos through the making of sounds based on the graphic notation. When interpreting the graphic notation, note that a vertical change indicates a change in pitch and a change in size refers to a change in volume. Individuals may repeat the same sound, change the rhythm or choose a new sound to voice. The group should follow the general dynamic guidelines, but may use dynamic variation within each sound. Remind the group that they are simulating an attack and that the
sounds they make should embody the raw emotions one would feel in such a situation.

Individuals assigned to the graphic notation can be rehearsed separately. First, have the group sing

“Ah” starting on the same pitch and slowly moving to pitches of their choice. This should go on for several minutes as individuals listen to each other, while at the same time find their own voice. Second,beginning again with “Ah,” ask the group to move first to different pitches and then to the making of other sounds. Third, have the group make sounds representing emotions such as anger and joy. Finally, the group should run through the score from rehearsal letter D to rehearsal letter H.

Performances

*Global Harmony Community Chorus Benefit Concert, Jennifer Anderson, conductor (Roseville, MN) – World Premiere

*Mahtomedi High School Varsity Choir, Robert Pontious, conductor (Mahtomedi, Minnesota) – In coordination with Mahtomedi’s Community book Club Meeting of The Late Homecomer by Kao Kalia Yang – listen above

*2012 Southeast District Choir Festival, Yuri Yamamoto, conductor (Raleigh, NC) – see YouTube video above

Central Presbyterian Choir, Jennifer Anderson, conductor (St. Paul) – Kao Kalia Yang spoke at the service

White Bear Unitarian Universalist Church Choir, Thaxter Cunio, conductor (Mahtomedi, MN)

Henderson State University Concert Choir, Ryan fox, conductor (Arkadelphia, AR)

Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte Choir, John Herrick, conductor (Charlotte, NC)

Critical Acclaim

“I sang the piece many times, always focusing on the notes and timing. I realized it was a powerful piece, but it was not until I gave myself over to the music that I felt its full impact. Tension began to rise in my body as the moments of silence occurred, then intensity built and I began to cry and to literally feel my body tightening…” – J. Bacon, singer, Global Harmony

“An amazing piece of storytelling through song. From its first gentle notes to its wild desperate cries,Today will be warm: A Story Cloth in Sound tells a riveting story of courage, pain, loss and hope.” -E. Alexander, audience member

Reviews

Catherine Dalton (store manager) – April 23, 2021

“An amazing piece of storytelling through song. From its first gentle notes to its wild desperate cries,Today will be warm: A Story Cloth in Sound tells a riveting story of courage, pain, loss and hope.” -E. Alexander, audience member

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