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About the Composer
Timothy C. Takach
Timothy C. Takach Publications
Duende
A fiery and impassioned sentiment of what it’s like to be moved by art or nature.
SSAA, floor toms
(Spanish) The mysterious power a work of art has to deeply move a person.
This firecracker of a piece will stand tall and bring something totally unique to a treble choir program. Strong, independent vocal lines weave throughout this piece and provide contrast to the homophonic sections that declaim the important phrases of the text. Pulsating drumming pushes the energy forward and punctuates this amazing poetry. Your treble choir is sure to fall in love with these words and this music.
Composer’s Notes
There’s a feeling we get when we experience art, whether it’s music, visual art, dance, theater. We experience it, and we are moved. It can be hard to explain exactly why we are affected. The Spanish word “Duende” doesn’t translate well into English, but it’s a word for this power that art has to move us. This piece is a setting of “Duende,” a poem in Julia Klatt Singer’s book “Untranslatable,” where she uses these kind of words that have no direct translation as a springboard for poetry.
When I was writing for Girls’ 21 from Cherry Creek High School, conductor Adam Cave wanted an upbeat piece with percussion, and at first glance this poem doesn’t lend itself to that kind of music. But upon closer inspection, there’s an underlying excitement in the words, a kinetic energy that can translate into powerful music. In the piece, we first hear an observation – a simple melody, stated twice, describing the intrinsic beauty of nature, and this erupts into a fast-paced exploration of how what we see affects us. We are moved by what we see, and these things – whether they are nature or art – become a part of us.
– Timothy C, Takach, 2016
Text
The sky
looks like it is fire
the lake, silver
and I wonder
what my skin tastes like
after seeing something
like this.
For surely this sky falls, sinks
beneath my skin
just as the cold does, just
as the snow. Just as the moon
does, when it is waning,
just as the clouds do
when they can’t help but break.
Some moments I am nothing more
than driftwood, fox prints, flight.
– Julia Klatt Singer. Used with permission.
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