From Wilderness is exactly what its subtitle states: a musical meditation on the Pacific Coast Trail, with choral settings of poems and quotations that evoke points along that trail running from Southern California to British Columbia. The texts were not written specifically for this project but come from poets and thinkers who have examined the natural and internal worlds, from Rumi and Lord Byron through Matthew Derus, presumably a relative of composer Jeffrey Derus. These are set for chorus syllabically and diatonically, ...
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From Wilderness is exactly what its subtitle states: a musical meditation on the Pacific Coast Trail, with choral settings of poems and quotations that evoke points along that trail running from Southern California to British Columbia. The texts were not written specifically for this project but come from poets and thinkers who have examined the natural and internal worlds, from Rumi and Lord Byron through Matthew Derus, presumably a relative of composer Jeffrey Derus. These are set for chorus syllabically and diatonically, with plenty of room for the resonances of the fine choral voices of the Choral Arts Initiative to emerge in a style akin to that of Holy Minimalism; one might even call this Holy Minimalism of a sort. There are also movements for crystal bowls, incorporated a few times into the choral movements, and there is a solo cello that pops up with delightful unpredictability. This project was slated for live performance at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, but this may be a...
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