Voices Long Kept Silent for Solo Cello

Featured on Classical KC 91.9 FM and premiered by international cellist Diane Chaplin, the music begins with the soul’s cry after generations of oppression. The use of a delay pedal at specific points in the piece signify the echoes of that expanse of time. The cry gets stronger and stronger until about a quarter of the way through it breaks out into: “I’m….. angry!” The rhythm of these words–long short short–will give this away. It is repeated twice more, each time stronger and clearer. Then the voice breaks out in a flood of righteous anger until it has emptied itself. From the dust rises a happy little tune free of an established foot-tapping rhythm, a dance of sorts that expresses its newfound freedom. As that settles down, there is a moment of thoughtfulness in which the voice realized there are many still bound. At that point, the beginning melody will return as a cry for others still in chains. c. 5′