A straight-forward piece for tenor-bass chorus (4-parts with no divisi), grip features varied musical textures, sections of challenging but satisfying interlocking rhythms, and a balance of interesting lines to sing between voice parts. The quirky yet introspective poetry also makes this a great piece for opening up discussions around masculinity, particularly for young-adult singers.

Composer’s Notes

The first time I read “i’m telling you // they want // to know // whether i am one of them // and what kind” I felt the urge to look over my shoulder. Handshakes have always felt loaded to me. They are a brief moment of physical contact with a stranger, often a means for people (particularly men) to size each other up, and a microcosm of how we relate to each other. Levi Todd encapsulates this loadedness perfectly in grip (v.), outlining the pressure of a first impression, feelings of trepidation and guardedness, wondering how your expression of self will be received by another, what assumptions they will make about you, the safety implications of such assumptions, and of course: the desire to connect. I knew immediately that this needed to be a piece for tenor-bass chorus.

The drum line is entirely optional, but increases the piece’s impact, running like an anxious heartbeat through the performance. The line was written with a large symphonic bass drum in mind, but any low, unpitched drum will work. Cantus used [type of drum] in the premiere.

-Scott Senko

Text

knowing that this is likely the one time ever
that me and a new strange man who I do not wish to befriend
or belove will touch I feel a certain guilt when the inevitable failure
happens the potential intimacy dropped and floundering
on the floor like a gilled thing i rack my brain for the index
of handshakes tattered and fading my fingers
slipping through holes this unspoken treaty requires
we both read each other estimate what kind of men
we are if at all whether to extend hands and tersely shake
distance kept or rather to clasp palms wound
against the thumbs and slip into fingertips or perhaps
just clap and bump knuckles i’m telling you
they want to know whether i am one of them
and what kind which ranks i march with whose allegiance
i pledge and i have no answer the proof is in the fumble
still i would like to give this moment the chance
it deserves we could make it work i think
i think we could but there are so many options
and knowing which one to pick like the rosiest apple
from the bushel would require me to get to know them
Enough to do this a second time