LET MY SILENCE GROW
For SATB divisi with piano
Composition: Let My Silence Grow
Ensemble: UWEC Concert Choir
Conductor: Dr. Frank Watkins
Sheet Music
Available for SATB divisi with piano. Purchase music at Musicspoke.
War On Silence
Let my silence grow with noise
as a pregnant mothers grow with life.
Let my silence permeate these walls
as the sunlight permeates a home.
Let the silence rise from unwatered graves
and craters left by bombs.
Let the silence rise from empty bellies
and surge from broken hearts.
The silence of the hidden and forgotten.
The silence of the abused and tortured.
The silence of the persecuted and imprisoned.
The silence of the hurtand massacred.
Loud as all the sounds can be,
let my silence be loud
so the hungry may eat my words
and the poor may wear my words.
Loud as all the sounds can be,
let my silence be loud
so I may resurrect the dead
and give voice to the oppressed.
My silence speaks.
-Kamand Kojouri
Composer Notes:
Over the last few years I have really taken to film scoring and if I have learned anything it is that the story comes before your music. In a similar vein, story came first for this piece. I didn’t want my music to be distracting to the meaning of this beautiful poem written by Kamand Kojouri. Instead I wanted to enhance the story by keeping the poem’s natural rhythm of speech and employing numerous examples of text painting. Through a delicate and mature soundscape, I hope to provide an Immersing listening experience to the poignant message of this text.
Zachary J. Moore