Grow enamored of these pieces from Graphite all about the many ways we can carry love through this existence.
Selections are highlighted in the four primary types of love from Greek philosophy: Eros (romantic/passionate), Philia (friendship/camaraderie), Storge (familial affection), and Agape (unconditional/selfless love). No matter what time of year, philia your programs up with these pieces and audiences’ mouths will be left agape by the splendor! We are in our “Love Eros” and there’s no storge-pping us!!
We begin with two special cycles: like peas in a pod, these songs can stand alone, but are better together.
Victorian Valentines
by Timothy Hoekman
Medium high voice & piano | Difficulty: 4 | Duration: 10-20 min.
Five poems by four Victorian women: Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Edith Nesbit, Christina Rossetti, and Rosamund Marriott Watson.
This is How You Love
by Jocelyn Hagen & Timothy C. Takach
SATB a cappella | Difficulty: 4 | Duration: 30+ min.
This multi-movement work explores the depths of relationships – infatuation, need, companionship, conflict, compromise, and love.
Romance
Star-crossed, by Saunder Choi
SSAA div. with piano | Difficulty: 5 | Duration: 5-10 min.
“You are a waterfall,
and I, a stream:
You will forever flow through me
and I shall never contain you.”
-Ronald Baytan
Best Wishes, by Mari Esabel Valverde
SATB chorus a cappella | Difficulty: 2 | Duration: 3-5 min.
Siren Song, by Katerina Gimon
SSA a cappella | Difficulty: 3 | Duration: 3-5 min.
I Cannot Forget You, by Linda Tutas Haugen
SATB, violins and piano | Difficulty: 3 | Duration: 5-10 min.
Friendship
Sue Loves Butter, by Elizabeth Alexander
SSA and piano | Difficulty: 3 | Duration: 3-5 min.
This piece is an over-the-top frolic which invites the singers and audience to celebrate the warmth, camaraderie, joy, and just plain fun which good friends bring to our lives.
Take My Hand, by Eric William Barnum
SATB a cappella | Difficulty: 3 | Duration: 3-5 min.
Sed Amore (But by Love) (SATB), by Dale Warland
SATB div. and piano; also SA | Difficulty: 3 | Duration: 5-10 min.
A child suggested on a Tuesday, by Joshua Shank
SATB a cappella | Difficulty: 4 | Duration: less than 3 min.
Familial Love
I Have Never Loved Someone (The Way I Love You), by Shara Nova
SSAATTBB; also SSAA | Difficulty: 4 | Duration: 3-5 min.
“Six months after my son was born, my maternal grandmother transitioned from this life,” writes Nova about the song’s inception. “I was not only feeling love for my child, but my grandmother’s love for me.”
Sisters Are Life Partners, Too, by Jocelyn Hagen
2-part treble choir and piano | Difficulty: 3 | Duration: 5-10 min.
Touch Hands: A Table Grace, by Abbie Betinis
Flexible (round, partner song, or double canon) | Difficulty: 2 | Duration: 3-5 min.
Nanay, Tatay (Mother, Father), by Tracy Wong
2-part treble choir and body percussion | Difficulty: 2 | Duration: 3-5 min.
Unconditional Love
One Blue Sky, by Dale Trumbore
SSAA a cappella | Difficulty: 3 | Duration: less than 3 min.
A serene meditation on what links us all. From Trumbore: “Growing up, Jany and Karl were close family friends. When I learned of Karl’s passing, I wanted to write something for Jany that would reflect the warmth and kindness that she and Karl had demonstrated to me throughout my life.”
Lumen, by Abbie Betinis
Unison chant, 3 part canon | Difficulty: 2 | Duration: less than 3 min.
We are loved by an unending love, by Gerald Cohen
Mezzo-Soprano or Baritone Solo, SATB Chorus, and Piano | Difficulty: 3 | Duration: 5-10 min.
Incertidumbre (SATB), by Carlos Cordero
SATB div. a cappella; also SAB | Difficulty: 3
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