Rosephanye Powell’s upbeat “When We Sing” is a celebration of the power of song to unify and build community. Through our uniformed inhalations and exhalations; singing of melodies, harmonies and rhythms; and expressive feelings, we become one community, sharing a message that unites us as one race of people–the human race. Additionally, “When We Sing” expresses the idea that inner joy, peace and life, itself, are the reasons for “why” we sing. We sing because it heals and enlivens us. The rhythms and melodies here are sure to bring hoy to singers and audiences alike in this wonderful song.

Composer’s Notes

“When We Sing” is a celebration of the power of song to unify and build community. Through our uniformed inhalations and exhalations; singing of melodies, harmonies and rhythms; and expressive feelings, we become one community, sharing a message that unites us as one race of people–the human race. Additionally, “When We Sing” expresses the idea that inner joy, peace and life, itself, are the reasons for “why” we sing. We sing because it heals and enlivens us. For these reasons and more, we are encouraged to “always” sing.

The lyrics of “When We Sing” are built upon descriptive words shared by Cantus for the commission, among them were “breathing, communicating through song, togetherness, pulsing in unison, expression of humanity–in pain and joy and community, human experience, we join our heartbeats as we join our song.” As well, Cantus shared an article about how singing impacts positively the health of those who sing. It read that “when people participate in a choir their heart beats become synchronised, and their pulses increase and decrease in union.”

The first seven measures provide the audience with an introduction to the theme of “When We Sing.” Beginning in measure eight, the song should be sung freely with an improvisatory feel that gives the audience a sense that the song is being made up as it is performed. The singers should have fun and interact with one another musically and expressively. The sections without percussion accompaniment are meant to showcase the voices, demonstrate unified breathing, and express the beauty of voices in harmony. The percussion parts may be improvised and developed further as long as the feel of the song remains the same.

– Rosephanye Powell

Text

When we sing, we are one. Ev’ry body, come let’s sing.
Oh, let’s sing. Oh, yes, we are one.
When we sing we’re breathing together,
living life in harmony.
Ev’ry heartbeat pulsing together when we sing.
When we sing we’re one mind and body,
joining heartbeats through our song.
Ev’ry breath we take is together. We are one.
Through our songs we live, we love,
we breathe as one community in harmony.
In times of war, our songs bring peace.
They ease our troubled minds.
Inhaling, exhaling, we’re breathing together.
We’re being, we’re feeling, we’re sharing
while singing together.
We sing for joy, peace, life, “la, la, la, la, la, la.”
That’s why we sing.
So, let us always sing our songs!