DAVID LANG
SOLITARY
AFTER THE BOOK OF LAMENTATIONS
FOR CHAMBER CHOIR OR 12 SOLO VOICES
SCORE
© 2016 by Universal Music Corp. (ASCAP) International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. RNY 1341 ISMN 979-0-041-61341-3
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program note:
solitary is a setting of my rewriting of a portion of the Book of Lamentations. I have always been a big fan of the Book of Lamentations - it seems to see deep inside the weaknesses of people, into the darkest places in our souls, and it is very clear about the punishments we deserve for not being better people. Some biblical texts are much softer encouragements for us to try to do better, but Lamentations is hardcore. I wanted to look closely at just how much more hardcore it is, so I made my lyrics by compiling a list of all the horrible things that will happen to us if we don't change ourselves, in the order that these horrible things are mentioned in the original text.
solitary was commissioned by Cappella Amsterdam and Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, supported by the AMMODO Foundation.
solitary should last about 8 minutes.
performance notes:
All accents are light, as if in spoken rhythm.
The performance instruction at the beginning is ‘frustrated and tired (but growing in intensity and volume throughout)’ and the beginning dynamic level is very quiet. At measure 31 the ‘growing in intensity and volume’ is supposed to begin, but I have deliberately not written in where and how the intensity grows after this point, nor have I written an endpoint for where its most intense point should be, nor at what dynamic level. I can imagine a version that builds very quickly and dramatically, ending very very loud, and I can also imagine a much more subtle build, on a much slower burn. I leave it to each group of performers to find the right amount of intensity for each performance.
solitary words by david lang (after the lamentations of jeremiah)
solitary bereaved enslaved bitter weeping comfortless betrayed exiled oppressed endlessly enslaved restless overtaken mourning deserted crying out grief stricken brought low suffering alone captive without relief of any kind like deer pasture-less running on exhausted in flight from the hunter I remember the life that was mine now there is no one left to help me grievous unclean despised naked moaning ashamed filthy endlessly downfallen with no one to console me the life that was mine is now someone else’s crying out starving
despised seared by fire deep into my bones entangled turned back desolated endlessly in misery chained weighed down weakened powerless rejected crushed like grapes in a winepress my crying eyes streaming with tears comfortless courageless shocked beaten unconsoled surrounded an unclean, filthy thing abandoned by my lovers distressed churning restless bereaved inside me, it is like death comfortless troubled wicked crying out sick at heart enveloped in darkness cast down forgotten pitiless swallowed up broken brought down to the ground, cut off powerless
without protection caught in a flaming fire devoured the aim of every arrow swallowed up destroyed mourning moaning wrecked destroyed forgotten ruined dejected sunk into the ground destroyed and broken lawless blind eyes all cried out everything churning empty of emotion wounded fainting away in the streets of the city starving fainting away in the streets of the city gasping my last breath comfortless downfall as vast as the sea unhealed and unhealable futile guilty mocked hissed jeered destroyed without pity gloated over my tears stream down in rivers day and night! no rest for me no rest for my eyes crying out my heart poured out like water fainting from hunger tormented starving slaughtered