Program Note
In contemporary literature, ‘kama’ is often used to connote erotic desire and emotional longing, but in ancient Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, this concept is more expansive and broadly refers to any desire, wish, passion, or pleasure, the enjoyment of art and beauty, and even more broadly, love and connection. Kama focuses on this ancient concept and these feelings, which are so essential to being human, while reflecting on how machines, no matter how complex, will ever truly feel and love the way we do and will never truly be able to feel what it is to be human. Kama is a musical call to action in a world where we are in danger of machines replacing us or pulling us further apart, but in which we will ultimately prevail.
Kama was commissioned by Ember Choral Arts, Dr. Deborah Simpkin King, Founding Artistic Director, as Ember’s first Composer in Residence.
Instrumentation
SATB Choir with Occasional Divisi (SSAATTBB)
Hand Pan (D Kurd 10: D) A, B-flat, C, D, E, F, G, A, C)
Performance Note
The Hand Pan may be gently amplified if necessary to blend with the choir using on-stage amplification, but should not be amplified through a house system.
World Premiere Ember
Dr. Deborah Simpkin King, Founding Artistic Director and Conductor
Robert Paterson, Hand Pan
St. Malachy Roman Catholic Church - The Actors’ Chapel, New York, NY, May 17 2024
Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair, Montclair, NJ, May 19, 2024