The Wilderness of You
Full Score
Andrea Ramsey
The Wilderness of You
Full Score
Andrea Ramsey
An extended work in five movements for SATB chorus, strings, percussion and piano exploring the elemental wonders of the human body and the interconnected intricacies of our shared humanity
Composer’s Program Notes
When I was gifted a copy of Jarod K. Anderson’s Field Guide to the Haunted Forest at Christmas in 2023, I inhaled the book in one sitting. The world he presented was interconnected, natural, and imposingly rich in its awe and wonder. I loved the dramatic shifts in perspective and decided to reach out. Though he was busy with the release of Something In the Woods Loves You, he collaborated enthusiastically, helping me stitch together ideas from the breadth of his existing poems to fulfill the lyrical aspect of this work.
At times, being a creative feels futile. Absorbing the world’s troubles and wanting to affect change—but with what? Basket-loads of empathy? Groups of people singing? My small voice in my narrow niche? It seems saccharine or naive: the idea of affecting change with any artistic pursuit. However, if imagination drives creation, then why would it be unreasonable to believe the creation of a more compassionate world would begin with our ability to imagine one? It’s emboldening to realize the power we hold: small spheres of our imagining leading to action and larger spheres of change. The Wilderness of You was composed to illumine human connection and commonalities—not just to bring us to a place of overlap among our collective Venn diagrams, but to stir wonder for our shared traits at this elemental level and help us dwell a bit in aspects of life that unite us.
Our bodies hold us. The systems within them are worthy of awe and confounding in their intricacies. We live in these bodies, yet we also are these bodies. These bodies carry us through illness, alert us to danger, and can also vex us with pains and surprises. Life can take tolls on our physical attributes. Some of us are missing di fferent aspects of our bodies or born with certain challenges. The Wilderness of You centers on those components of our bodies most common and present among all our varied iterations.
When the anxieties of this world coil around me, I return to my breath. I come home to myself. Meditation and mindulness have become new friends to me. The Wilderness of You aspires to be a musical means of bringing us home to our bodies. Media and content creators may gain revenue by appealing to anger, tribalism, and entrenchment. Our wellbeing and relationships may bear the costs of this engagement. It is a weary-making cycle of rage, exhaustion, and distrust; yet I believe most of us aspire to a nobler humanity than this. Most of us prefer rapport to antagonism. Most of us are peacemakers. Most of us care for others. May we gather—all of us— on a derelict bridge somewhere out beyond our di fferences to honor the connections and community we share in their most elemental forms: blood, breath, biome, brain, and being. May we fi nd shared delight in the wonders our bodies hold. May we hold ourselves in awe as wonderful creations worthy of dignity and decency. This is my hope (naive or not) for The Wilderness of You.
Performance Considerations
Flexible Instrumentation
This work was created with fl exibility in mind. It may be performed with SATB chorus and piano only; with SATB chorus, piano, and percussion only; with SATB chorus, piano, and reduced percussion; with SATB chorus, piano, and string quartet only; or with SATB chorus, piano, expanded string section, and percussion (see note in Strings below).
Strings
I am so grateful for the powerful, yet accessible string arrangement provided in this work by Luke Benton. Conductors, please include a credit in your program that reads: Strings Arr. By Luke Benton to acknowledge his contribution to this work.
For the sake of ensemble balance, Luke recommends the following parameters for strings:
If the choir is 75 or fewer singers: use string quartet. If the choir 75 to 125 singers: use 2/2/2/2 strings (no basses)
If the choir is more than 125 singers: use 4/4/3/2 strings (no basses)
Dynamics may need to be adjusted at times to compliment the choir and create balance throughout the overall texture.
Percussion
A percussion score is provided as well as a separate part for vibraphone. The work is playable by three percussionists, though some instruments will need to be shared/traded between players. (i.e. suspended cymbal, etc. may show on both parts, but the work can be played using just one shared suspended cymbal). In Breath, the ocean drum should take extra care to be subtle and breathlike. Gentle undulations of ocean waves should inhale and exhale in rhythm. Avoid brash stop-starts and try to keep things as even and subdued as the instrument allows. In Blood & Biome a metal option is employed. Any high metal “clank” sound will do (brake drum, anvil, cowbell, agogo). Floor tom or low tom may be used for the low tom sound, and for the medium-low tom, any medium, medium-low, or low tom may be used. In Biome, three wah-wah tubes are employed (pitches, F, C, & G). The notation for wah-wah tubes shows the fi rst beat as an accented strike with marks indicating rolls after, increasing in their pace. These do not need to be strictly measured. In each instance, the tube should be struck and the manipulation of the acoustic opening should be free, but increasing in activity as the pitch decays. Wah-wah tubes bring a novel sound that feels evocative of bubbling, and appropriate for Biome . If wah-wah tubes are new to you, you may experience them here via the QR code:
NOTE: If wah-wah tubes are not possible for your performance, percussionists may improvise a wah-wah tube e ff ect on the vibraphone by manipulating the motor and play the wah-wah tubes part on the vibraphone.
Chorus & Conductor
Please take care to observe the many articulations and directions throughout regarding style/ tonal approach. The tempi provided here are my best guesses. So often, I will feel certain about a tempo while composing the work— only to feel quite di ff erently once I’m at the podium conducting it. All this to say, conductors, please meld your good judgement with my best guesses and adjust as needed to make things work for your ensembles and performance venues.
Blood
Explore the many moods here—there is much to evoke! Take care of the melodic content for “a lump of iron” with crisp consonants and an energetic sound—one that is buoyant, yet packed with the feeling of releasing a secret. It should dance with a sense of rhythmic agility. Be mindful of the word “iron”. It has two distinct syllables. When treated as an eighth note, give each syllable one eighth note. In these other instances, please sustain the primary vowel sound and fl ip to the second syllable on the beats listed here: Soprano m. 37- beat 4 & 1/2 ; Alto measure 38- beat 4 & 1/2; Tenor & Bass measure 39- beat 2. Play with the speed of the glissandi throughout— see what works for your ensemble and for each moment. Observe the note at m. 54 regarding sopranos and basses mouthing the words “silent explosion” . Later, in the singing of the elements ( water, earth, air, and fi re) consider how each of these elements might take on di ff erent timbral identities in the voice and exploit those contrasts.
Breath
Note the instructions for inhalation/exhalation. Sense the passage of minutes as time ticks by in the opening measures and each new layer of sound appears. Let the four-bar structure of the phrase govern your dynamic build and release. Always drive toward the downbeat of the fourth bar and avoid breathing in the middle of the four-bar grouping. This movement has ample opportunity for contrast. Singers can explore sterile, clean sounds (e.g., m. 1-43) while inviting more warmth in moments like m. 46-56. Let m. 60 be fully chantlike (each nourishing breath, a sacred vow) and consider gradually lessening vibrato measures 60-67 until the texture feels gossamer or almost transparent. Llet the altos be at their most vulnerable and tender while singing “intimate as ‘I love you’”. Let the ensemble’s sound grow in warmth, unfolding through the build toward the full-voiced beauty of m. 100 before beginning a slow taper leading to the quiet completion of this movement.
Biome
Maybe my favorite and the most unique challenge of this project was composing a movement about the gut biome. There is so much whimsical delight in the word “ belly” that I couldn’t resist playing with it a bit m. 12-14. You, too, should bring a sense of playfulness to your voices. Throughout this work, don’t shy from the slow glissandi where notated speci fi cally as such — really lean into the stretch of them and enjoy evoking the strange, sliding, in-between sounds of Biome. For measure 19, use the “speeseez” pronunciation of “species”, not “speesheez.” The sounds of harmonic overtones appear in m. 86-93/100-105 and should be created by two to fi ve singers who are able to achieve strong, present overtones. In approaching the singing of
harmonic overtones, it may be helpful to explore this fi rst by humming. Sustain a long note in your mid-low register and place your fi ngers in your ears listening to how the harmonics change when you adjust your tongue and jaw positions. From here, you can slowly open your mouth and sustain nn-oh-or-ar-rr-ree sounds to hear the upper partials. Adjust your mouth shape and focus to give clarity to the harmonics. These incredible sounds have roots in secular and sacred traditions—originating in Khöömei singing (indigenous to Western Mongolia and Tuva); and also in the overtone chanting traditions found within Tantric Tibetan Buddhism. In the overall balance of the work, the overtones may not be overt—this is fi ne. The e ff ect will still provide a unique quality to the moment. The text of this movement is particularly dear to me. Even alone we are communities is a compelling sentiment, and I love that the text which inspired the title of the entire work (The Wilderness of You) is tucked away in this middle movement. For that fi nal question, “what do they name the wilderness of you?” allow the question to hang—consider reducing vibrato as you come to the fi nal two chords and be sure to let the soprano, tenor, and bass voices decrescendo so the alto’s questioning glissando can be heard in the texture.
Brain
While preparing this work for its Carnegie Hall premiere, my colleague and friend Dr. Kristina Caswell MacMullen, wrote of this movement in her notes to the choir: “No other movement [of The Wilderness of You] captures the dialogue of physical and metaphysical better than Brain. Think of yourself as birfurcated with two sounds: machine and spirit. We will associate two tonal concepts accordingly. The machine should be senza vibrato. The spirit should be warm and con vibrato.” I loved this insight and agree fully. The work moves at quite a fast click, so please take to heart the note at the outset which encourages: “don’t let your mouth work too hard.” Keep the articulation light and seamless. Take care with the diphthong of “now” to sustain the primary vowel. Sense the subdivision in your body, and let rhythmic accuracy be an extension of that. Use the few legato moments found within this particular movement to bring more warmth and contrast to the rest of it. Be unafraid of the drama of the “ your skull” moment and let that forte ring as a free extension of the dramatic expression— without forcing the tone or creating tension.
Being
There is simplicity and solemnity to this fi nal movement. In general, all moving notes should come to the foreground and dynamics will tend to follow the natural arch of the melodic lines throughout. For measures 74 through the end, lead the listener’s ear toward the word “home.” This fi nal movement asks us to return to ourselves. Apart from one active section where we look outwardly at the world, the rest of the work embodies a mood of calm introspection. See this movement as an opportunity to connect with your own spirit. As you sing the interweaving lines of “ just be you” I hope you will grant yourself (and your voice) that sense of freedom and beauty.
Full Texts of The Wilderness of You
By Jarod K. Anderson; adapted by Andrea Ramsey
1. Blood
Unimaginably long ago,
Unimaginably far from here,
Propelled by a silent explosion,
A lump of iron in the heart of a red super-giant journeyed to Earth Was forged into a sword. Forged into a hammer. Forged into a ring. Our blood is red because of iron: 2,000 gallons a day, Gushing through the chambers of each pumping heart; This giant star.
Flowing crimson in the veins of every sleeping child, This silent explosion. Our blood is mostly water, The water is just visiting. It was a thunderstorm a week ago. It will be an ocean soon enough. Most of your cells come and go like morning dew. Water. Earth. Air. Fire.
Look at what you are. Look at how you live. You are not born to this place. You are born of this place.
2. Breath
Fifteen times a minute, with or without thought, Your breath. The curve of your ribs. You converse with forests and seas, vast and green. Each nourishing breath a sacred vow, Intimate as “I love you,” Your breath. The curve of your ribs.
In the stream,
A ribcage cathedral braids hymns from water and light.
Your breath. The curve of your ribs. Fifteen times a minute. Your breath.
3. Biome
There is a garden in your belly. A warm orchard of perpetual bounty. Half the cells in our bodies belong to other species. Deep in our center, a singular truth— Even alone we are communities
Thriving in the dark to the rhythm of our heart. Generations blooming. How many generations have you hosted? What do they name the wilderness of you?
4. Brain
A machine that makes reality. Now. Here.
Encased in the living stone of your skull: The seat of your consciousness. Water and memory. Flesh and electricity. Natural as a leaf.
Schematics bloom within.
Thoughts, like ivy, creep and rise. Your skull is where facts flower into meaning.
5. Being
When in doubt, Come home to you. To now. Become an acolyte Of what’s within reach. Of forgiveness. Of the palm of your hand. Of feeling each breath. There will always be problems to big for you. An unknown future. A tragic world. Just be you. You’re the world too. Refocus. Come home.
The Wilderness of You Consortium Members
Immense gratitude to these organizations and their leadership for bringing this work to life
Commissioned jointly by:
National Concerts, Matthew Workman
Temple University, Dr. Dustin Cates and Dr. Elizabeth Parker
Baylor University, Dr. Kristina MacMullen
Bridgewater State University, Dr. Bradford Morin Dumont
Lin fi eld University, Dr. Julie Cross
University of Oregon University Singers, Dr. Melissa Brunkan, conductor
Cantate Carlisle, Michelle DiBona Trefren
The E.O. Smith High School Choirs, Amanda Hanzlik, Director
Lake Nona High School, Justin Chase and Aaron Kass
Rider University Chorale, Professor Tom Shelton
University of Michigan, Dr. Eugene Rogers
UMKC Choirs, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Dr. Charles Robinson and Dr. Jennifer Sengin
Additional Acknowledgements
This work would not exist without the assistance of so many people. I am grateful to Jarod K. Anderson for his words and his openness to collaboration and to Dr. Kristina Caswell MacMullen for her friendship and enthusiasm in discussing the early days of this project with me and bringing it to life in its Carnegie Hall premiere. To Julie Cross and Justin Chase, thank you for your editorial insights and error detection as early viewers of drafts of the work. Much gratitude to Andrea Cira for the stunning cover artwork, Luke Benton for the compelling string arrangements, and to James Green for his skilled engraving. Finally, thank you to cocommissioners Temple University (Dr. Dustin Cates and Dr. Elizabeth Parker) and to National Concerts and Matthew Workman, specifically, for believing in this project and organizing the consortium that made it possible.
Text by Jarod K. Anderson
Adapted by Andrea Ramsey
Soprano Alto
Tenor Bass
Violin I
Violin II
Percussion (triangle, medium-low tom, metal option [brake drum, anvil, cowbell or agogo], mark tree, rain stick, ocean drum, suspended symbal)
Percussion (suspended cymbal, low tom [muted])
The Wilderness of You
SATB Chorus with Piano, String Quartet and Percussion
1. Blood
Freely, with a sense of expansiveness
Freely, with a sense of expansiveness ( q»ca. 60 - 70 ) ( q»ca. 60 - 70 )
Music by Andrea Ramsey Strings arr. by Luke Benton
no vibrato, flautando muted no vibrato, flautando
muted no vibrato,
Freely, with a sense of expansiveness ( q»ca. 60 - 70 ) ( q»ca. 60 - 70 ) muted
Freely, with a sense of expansiveness
Copyright © 2024 by Andrea L. Ramsey & Luke Benton
Viola
Cello
pelled by
close to "nn" voiced consonant and sustain
close to "nn" voiced consonant and sustain close to "nn" voiced consonant and sustain close to "nn" voiced consonant and sustain
Adding heft ( q»
Adding heft ( q»ca. 70 - 82 )
forgedin to asword,
Adding heft ( q»ca. 70 - 82 )
Adding heft ( q»ca. 70 - 82 )
f f at the frog at the frog at the frog at the frog metal option (brake drum, anvil, or cowbell)
thunderstorma
thunderstorma
Look
Look
Look
Look
& V ? & ?
Look
Earth.
Earth.
Earth.
sul G ** (natural harmonic gliss. sweeps up and down the specified string)
sul D ** (natural harmonic gliss. sweeps up and down the specified string) sul pont. sul pont.
& & V ? & ? & & B ?
Look athow you live.
Look athow you live.
Look athow you live.
Look athow you live.
& V ? & ?
You
to
to
you, you,
you, you,
You
& V ? & ?
& & V ? & ? & &
Look atwhat you
Look atwhat you
Look atwhat you
Look atwhat you
Look athow you
Look athow you
Look athow you
Look athow you
You*areborn
You*areborn
You*areborn
2. Breath
© 2024 by Andrea L. Ramsey & Luke Benton
Alto
Tenor
Bass
Violin I
Violin II
Viola
Cello
Vibraphone
Copyright
Music by Andrea Ramsey Strings arr. by Luke Benton
Text by Jarod K. Anderson
Adapted by Andrea Ramsey
with or withoutthought.
Fifteentimesaminute,
Fifteen
with
with
Fifteentimesaminute
& V ? & ?
fifteentimesaminute
Fifteentimesaminute
Fifteentimesaminute
Fifteentimesaminute,
vastandgreen,
vastandgreen,
vastandgreen,
vastandgreen,
breath.Thecurve of your
breath.Thecurve of your
Thecurve of your
Thecurve of your
Fifteentimesaminute
Yourbreath.
Thecurve of your
Thecurve of your
Thecurve of your
Yourbreath.
Thecurve of your
Conductor: feel free to add some baritones m. 114-116 if needed for balance may add a few baritones w ribs. w ribs.
Fifteentimesaminute,
Thecurve of your
3. Biome
Text by Jarod K. Anderson Adapted by Andrea Ramsey
Soprano Alto Tenor Bass
Viola Cello
Percussion (triangle, medium-low tom [muted], metal option [brake drum, anvil, cowbell or agogo], mark tree, suspended cymbal, snare drum [snare off, muted])
Percussion (suspended cymbal, triangle, low tom [muted]
Wah Wah Tubes (or Vibraphone) (F pentatonic set) [F, C, G used]
Copyright © 2024 by Andrea L. Ramsey & Luke Benton
by Andrea Ramsey Strings arr. by Luke Benton
Violin I
Violin II
Music
marcato but lighter
Halfthecellsinour
Halfthecellsinour
marcato but lighter buoyant--think marcato but lighter buoyant--think marcato but lighter
Halfthecellsinour
Thrivinginthedark,
gliss. gliss. gliss.
gliss.
tions,
ge nerations
ge nerations
blooming,
?
blooming,
Upper pitch: snare
Adjust mouth shape to manipulate harmonics
+2-5 soloists (of any voice part) manipulating harmonic overtone sequence, staggering their breathing (see performance notes)
Tenors, begin aleatory here, see notes below**
*** In mm. 100-105, pizz. bracketed pitches followed by LH finger gliss. after plucking string. Choose order and octave of pitches at random, equally randomizing the direction (up/down) of the finger gliss. Glissandi should be short and have a natural decrescendo by gradually releasing LH finger tension. Arrival note after gliss. is indeterminate. Play arrhythmically and asynchronously from other string players. Begin pizz. sporadically, then slightly increase frequency before tapering off in preparation of mm. 106.
pizz. gliss.***
F
pizz. gliss.***
F
pizz. gliss.***
F
**Tenors should sing the bracketed melody at will, independent of tempo. Some individuals singing faster, some slower, but growing and tapering in volume and activity as led by the conductor.
Basses should immediately close to the "ng" of "blooming" and sustain an "ng" hum throughout providing a drone to the SA aleatoric section.
Conductor may repeat this section multiple times for desired effect.
During the final taper, the 2-5 soloists who manipulated harmonic overtones can return, creating gentle overtone effects as all singers return to the drone on C.
Top pitch: snare (snare off, muted)
Middle pitch: medium-low tom (muted)
Bottom pitch: low tom (muted)
Top pitch: snare (snare off, muted)
Middle pitch: medium-low tom (muted)
Bottom pitch: low tom (muted)
metal option: (brake drum/anvil/agogo/cowbell)
What do theyname
? &
Top pitch: snare (snare off, muted)
Middle pitch: medium-low tom (muted)
Bottom pitch: low tom (muted)
Text by Jarod K. Anderson Adapted by Andrea Ramsey
Detached ( q»ca. 152 - 158 )
4. Brain
Detached ( q»ca. 152 - 158 )
Detached ( q»ca. 152 - 158 )
Detached ( q»ca. 152 - 158 )
Percussion (snare drum [snare off, muted] & triangle)
Percussion (low tom [muted], suspended cymbal & triangle)
Copyright © 2024 by Andrea L. Ramsey & Luke Benton
Music by Andrea Ramsey Strings arr. by Luke Benton
Violin I
Violin II
Viola Cello
snare drum (without snare, muted)
chinethatmakes
chine
chinethatmakes
chinethatmakes
legato, senza
legato, senza vibrato legato, senza vibrato legato, senza vibrato
poco marcato leggiero leggiero leggiero sus. cym.
& & V ? & ? & &
Broadening (feel in 2) ( q»136 ) Broadening (feel in 2) ( q»136 )
Broadening (feel in 2) ( q»136 ) w > skull, w > skull, w > skull, w > skull, ww ww
Text by Jarod K. Anderson
Adapted by Andrea Ramsey
Hymn-like ( q»84 )
5. Being
& & V ? ? ? & & B
Hymn-like ( q»84 )
Whenin
Whenin
Percussion (suspended cymbal, low tom [muted]) Piano
Hymn-like ( q»84 )
Percussion (triangle, medium-low tom, mark tree, snare drum [snare off, muted], vibraphone)
Copyright © 2024 by Andrea L. Ramsey & Luke Benton
Alto Tenor
Bass
Violin I
Violin II
Viola
Cello
Music
Unpitched--a deep breath/sigh, as if processing (on
Pause, gather & reassure yourself. Move forward in strength.
Therewillalways
& V ? & ?
& V ? & ?
& V ? & ?
bbbbb bbbbb bbbbb bbbbb bbbbb bbbbb bbbbb bbbbb bbbbb bbbbb
Relaxing ( q»ca. 84 - 88 )
Relaxing ( q»ca. 84 - 88 )
Relaxing ( q»ca. 84 - 88 )
focus.Come
focus.Come
focus.Come
focus.Come
?
& & V ? & ?
You're theworld,
& & B
You're theworld,
You're theworld,
You're theworld,
Rubato, a bit slower
Rubato, a bit slower F
Rubato, a bit slower
& V ? & ?
Additional SATB works by Andrea Ramsey (available at www.musicspoke.com)
1941
A Hive of Frightened Bees
Do Not Be Afraid
Canto
Each Slow Dusk
I Was Created For Joy
Imaginary Creatures
O Vos Omnes
Orion
O Magnum Mysterium
Stomp on the Fire
The Journey
See Amid the Winter’s Snow
Vision
SATB, piano (also available SA & TB)
SATB, piano
SATB div., unaccompanied
SATB, cello & piano
SSAATTBB, unaccompanied
SATB, piano
SATB div., piano (also available SA)
SATB, piano (also available SA & TB)
SATB, piano & optional string quartet
SATB div.
SATB & body percussion
SATB div., piano
SA+SATB, baritone solo, piano
SATB, piano
You May Choose Your Word
We Cannot Keep From Singing
SSAATTBB, piano
SA+SATB & piano
SSAATTBB, piano & full orchestra What I Can I Give Him
About the Composer
Dr. Andrea Ramsey enjoys an international presence as a composer, conductor, scholar and music educator. An award-winning composer with nearly 200 works to date, she previously held positions at The Ohio State University and the University of Colorado Boulder before leaping into full time guest conducting and composing. A product of public education and a fi rst-generation college student, Andrea grew up in rural Arkansas, where she experienced fi rsthand the power of music to provide opportunities, a sense of community, and better understanding of our humanity. It is through the generosity of her many teachers and the state and federal funding of scholarships and fellowships that she is able to have the career and successes she enjoys today.