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Paul John Rudoi
PJR Music (Paul John Rudoi)
Oranges
A touching testament to young love.
SSA or TBarB Choir, Solo, and Piano
Commissioned for the 2021-2022 TTBB Minnesota All State Choir, Paul’s Oranges builds on the famous poem by Gary Soto in unique ways. Focused on a soloist who only speaks, with a choir that only sings when the emotion becomes too much to handle, and a piano part full of nostalgia, this work for TTB or SSA choir is a touching testament to young love.
Composer’s Notes
At its heart, this is theatrical. Memorization is recommended to make the most impact with the audience.
Spoken rhythms are approximate. The most important thing is to practice until it sounds naturally spoken while being together as an ensemble or section.
Think of the emotional arc of the piece through the lens of the different parties:
- The choir mostly speaks, but when caught up in the emotion of the moment, they sing.
- The narrator only speaks, but when caught up in the emotion of the moment, they act without speaking.
The choir should face straight out to the audience to reinforce that they are representations of the narrator’s (aka soloist’s) experience. That said, the emotion they show doesn’t have to be exact with the soloist.
The soloist should be someone from the choir who can act well, bringing out the emotion of the moment even if they aren’t speaking. Suggestions include looking up and out as if remembering, looking at audience members as they remember, etc.
– Paul John Rudoi
Text
The first time I walked
With a girl, I was twelve,
Cold, and weighted down
With two oranges in my jacket.
December. Frost cracking
Beneath my steps, my breath
Before me, then gone,
As I walked toward
Her house, the one whose
Porch light burned yellow
Night and day, in any weather.
A dog barked at me, until
She came out pulling
At her gloves, face bright
With rouge. I smiled,
Touched her shoulder, and led
Her down the street, across
A used car lot and a line
Of newly planted trees,
Until we were breathing
Before a drugstore. We
Entered, the tiny bell
Bringing a saleslady
Down a narrow aisle of goods.
I turned to the candies
Tiered like bleachers,
And asked what she wanted –
Light in her eyes, a smile
Starting at the corners
Of her mouth. I fingered
A nickle in my pocket,
And when she lifted a chocolate
That cost a dime,
I didn’t say anything.
I took the nickle from
My pocket, then an orange,
And set them quietly on
The counter. When I looked up,
The lady’s eyes met mine,
And held them, knowing
Very well what it was all
About.
Outside,
A few cars hissing past,
Fog hanging like old
Coats between the trees.
I took my girl’s hand
In mine for two blocks,
Then released it to let
Her unwrap the chocolate.
I peeled my orange
That was so bright against
The gray of December
That, from some distance,
Someone might have thought
I was making a fire in my hands.
“Oranges” from New and Selected Poems © 1995 by Gary Soto.
Used with permission of Chronicle Books LLC, San Francisco. Visit ChronicleBooks.com.
$2.50 per licensed PDF
Music from PJR Music (Paul John Rudoi)
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The Infinite Dwelling (SATB)
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