A VOICE IS HEARD IN RAMAH SATB (div.) | Unaccompanied Text | Jeremiah 31:15 and Matthew 2:18 Music | David Walters DWalters MusicThis score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.
A VOICE IS HEARD IN RAMAH
This score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.
Performance NotesNo. 1 - Under each dotted bracket, singers change notes individually, melding from one chord to the next. No. 2 - Following Rachel, a group of soloists (from any section) sing the indicated fragment (as written or one octave above,) starting with one singer. As more soloists join in, a wall of sound should form as each rendition overlaps with the next. Once all the soloists are singing, whoever was first transitions to the next measure and begins another wave of speaking/shouting. The soloists should be getting louder throughout. At the apex of the shouting, the soloists individually rejoin the choir. No. 3 - The choir splits into two parts. Following the initiation of speaking/shouting in the soloists, Choir 2 shifts to the indicated fragment, individually joining the wave of soloists, getting louder all the while. At the apex of the shouting, Choir 2 (along with the shouting soloists) rejoins the choir and the sung chord overtakes the
Contextshouting.-Itisstated in Genesis 30:1 that Rachel has so desired children, she thought herself dead without them. In granting her children, God made her the progenitor of several prosperous Hebrew tribes, the Benjamites among them. Then in Jeremiah, the account is given of the Hebrews subjugation under Babylonian rule. Before the Hebrews were taken to Babylon to be slaves, they were gathered in Ramah, in the land of the Benjamites. Though she was long dead at this point, Rachel was figuratively mourning for the loss of her children and for the loss of all the children of Israel. Her cry could be heard, echoing across time in the souls of those living parents who were presently losing their children. Furthermore, the Gospel of Matthew recounts Herod's infanticide. So it is said then that Jeremiah's prophecy received a second accomplishment. Centuries later, Rachel's cry could still be heard, as if caught in some eternal vigil. At its heart, this piece is about the loss of children, the cyclical nature of violence, and the emotional exhaustion that comes from realizing we've been here before.
PronunciationRamah - [ɾama] Rachel - [ɾaxɛl] Waj - [wajǝ] Waj is an exclamation of grief in Aramaic, the dominant language of Ramah during the time of Jesus.
DWalters Music
& & V ? bbbb bbbb bbbb bbbb 4 3 4 3 4 3 4 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 3 4 3 4 3 4 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 Soprano Alto Tenor Bass œ œ A¹ œ A¹ œ A¹ œ A¹ π π π πÚ60-70 . . œ œ ‰ œ œ voiceis .œ ‰ œ voicein .œ ‰ œ voiceis .œ ‰ œ voiceis . .˙ ˙ œ œ heardin œ ˙ œ heardin ˙. œ heardin ˙. œ heardin ˙ ˙ ˙˙ Œ Ramah, œ œ ˙ Œ Ramah, ˙ ˙Œ Ramah, ˙ ˙Œ Ramah, p p p p œ œ [cr]y² œ [cr]y² œ [cr]y² œ cry π π π π . . œ œ ‰ œ œ ingand .œ ‰ œ ingand .œ ‰ œ ingand .œ ‰ œ ingand U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U & & V ? bbbb bbbb bbbb bbbb 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 S A T B 7 ˙ ˙ mourning ˙ ˙ œ œ ˙ mourning, ˙ ˙ mourning, ˙ ˙ mourning, P P P P p p p p ˙ (ing) Ó Ó Ó Ó w ˙ ˙ mourning, œ œ ˙ mourning, œ ˙ œ mourning,Ra ˙ ˙ mourning, P Œ ˙ œ œ Rachel Œ ˙ œ Rachel ˙. œ chel Œ ˙ œ Rachel P P P œ œ . .˙˙ mourning œ . . ˙ ˙ mourning œ .˙ mourning œ œ .˙ mourning Œ ˙. œ œ forher Œ ˙ œ œ forher ˙ ˙ œ forher Œ . . ˙ ˙ œ forher F F F F U U U U Jeremiah 31:15 David Walters Matthew 2:18 Dolente A VOICE IS HEARD IN RAMAH 3rd Place Winner - IFCM Fourth International Competition for Choral Composition 2019 ¹ connect note, without break, across the barline ² don't pronounce the [cr], enter on the vowel ©2019 DWalters Music.All rights reserved. This score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.
& & & V ? bbbb bbbb bbbb bbbb bbbb 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 Solo S A T B 13 ∑ 13 œ œ . .˙˙ children. œ . . ˙ ˙ chilren. œ .˙ children. œ œ .˙ children. p p p p ∑ œ œ A œ A œ A œ A A ∑ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ voiceisheardin œ œ œ œ voiceisheardin œ œ œ œ voiceisheardin œ œ œ œ voiceisheardin ∑ œ œ . . ˙ ˙ Ramah! œ .˙ Ramah! œ .˙ Ramah! œ .˙ Ramah! f f f f œ j œ œ œ œ j œ œ œ Rachel:Waj,waj, w ŒŒ wŒŒ w ŒŒ w ŒŒ F cresc.cresc.cresc.cresc. π π π π U U U U U U U U & bbbb . . . . . . . . 8 3 8 3 8 3 8 3 8 3 Solo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 18 œ j œ œ œ Soli:waj, ¿ ¿ waj, w w w w w w w w w ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ U U U U - 2 See- note No. 1 See note No. 2 Choir 2 See note No. 3 approx. 20ʺ approx. 10ʺ approx. 30ʺ approx. 20ʺ approx. 20ʺ & bbbb 4 4 . . . . wa ¿ j, ¿ This score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.
& & & V ? bbbb bbbb bbbb bbbb bbbb 8 3 8 3 8 3 8 3 8 3 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 Solo S A T B 23 ‰Œ 23 ‰ œ œ œœ Wa ‰ œ Wa ‰ œ Wa ‰‰‰ ƒ ƒ ƒ ∑ œ œ Wa w œ œ j,wa .˙ œ œ œ œ ˙ ˙ j,wa œ œ .˙ j,wa œ . . ˙ ˙ œ œ Waj,wa ƒ ƒ f f f f ˙. œ ˙. œ ˙ ˙ œ œ œ œ j, œ .˙ j, œ ˙. œ .˙ j, œ œ j,wa œ œ œ œ œœ j,wa œ œ wa œ œ wa ˙ ˙ œ .˙ j,wa œ .˙ j,wa œ œ œ œn ˙. œ j,wa . . ˙ ˙ œ j,wa ˙ œ œ waj, w œ œ œ œn œ ˙ œ œ ˙n j, œ ˙. œ .˙ j, ˙. œ j, œ œ .˙ waj, U U U U U & & & V ? bbbb bbbb bbbb bbbb bbbb 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 Solo S A T B 29 œn .œ .˙ j, 29 ˙. œ wa ˙ ˙ œ ˙ œ wa œ œ œ œ wa œ .˙ waj, œ Œ Ó œAœ . . ˙ ˙ > j!Cry œ .˙ > j!Cry œ .˙ > j!Cry ∑ ∑ ˙˙ ing ˙ ˙ ∑ ∑ . . ˙˙ œ œ and ˙. œ ingand ˙. œ ingand Ó Œ œ and P ∑ ˙ ˙ mourning, ˙ ˙ œ œ ˙ mourning, ˙ ˙ mourning, ˙ ˙ mourning, p p p p ∑ ˙ (ing) Ó Ó Ó Ó ∑ w ˙ ˙ mourning, œ œ ˙ mourning, œ ˙ œ mourning.Ra ˙ ˙ mourning, P B U U U U - 3This score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.
& & & V ? bbbb bbbb bbbb bbbb bbbb 4 7 4 7 4 7 4 7 4 7 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 Solo S A T B 36 ∑ 36 Œ ˙ œ œ Rachel Œ ˙ œ Rachel ˙. œ chel Œ ˙ œ Rachel P P P ∑ œ œ . .˙˙ mourning œ . . ˙ ˙ mourning œ .˙ mourning œ œ .˙ mourning ∑ Œ w ˙ ˙ forher Œ ˙. ˙ œ forher ˙ w œ forher Œ ˙ ˙ . . ˙ ˙ œ forher F F F F Ó Œ œ ..re œ œ . .˙˙ children œ . . ˙ ˙ children, œ .˙ children œ œ .˙ children P œ œ Œ œ œ fusingtobe ww [n]³ w w [n]³ w [n]³ w [n]³ œ â œ ˙ œ comforted,ah, ˙˙ ¿ [because they are no more.] ˙ ˙ ¿ [because they are no more.] ˙ ¿ [because they are no more.] ˙ ¿ [because they are no more.] nientenientenienteniente F whispering only whispering only whispering only whispering only p p p p .œ œ œ œœ .œ ˙ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ƒU , U U U U ^ & & & V ? bbbb bbbb bbbb bbbb bbbb 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 Solo S A T B 43 w Œ 43 ¿ ¿ Œ œ ˙ œ becausethey ¿ ¿ Œ œ ˙ œ becausethey Œ œ ˙ œ becausethey ¿ ¿ Œ œ ˙ œ becausethey ¿ ¿ π π π π C niente ∑ ¿ ˙ ˙ areno ¿˙ ˙ areno ˙ ˙ areno ¿ ˙ ˙ areno ¿ nientenientenienteniente ∑ .˙ œ œ more.Mm, ˙. œ œ more.Mm, w more. w more. w p p p p ∑ w œ œ mm, œ œ .œ j œ œ mm, œ ˙ ˙ Mm, w w œ œ Mm, π π π π ∑ ˙. œ mm, ˙ ˙ œ œ œ œ mm, œ ˙ œ œ . ∑ œ œ œ œ œ œ mm, œ œ ˙ ˙ - 4³ Gradually close to "n" and fade to niente while individually transitioning to whispering the bracketed phrase, in measure 43: S2, A2, T1 & B1 sing the phrase while the other parts continue to whisper and diminuendo, all parts sing at measure 45This score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.
& & & V ? bbbb bbbb bbbb bbbb bbbb 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 Solo S A T B 49 ∑ 49 œ .˙ oh, œ œ œ œn oh, ˙. œ oh, ˙. œ oh, ˙. œ rit.rit.rit.rit. ∑ ˙ ˙n œ ˙. œ ˙. œ ˙ œ ˙. œ œ .˙ Ó Œ œn .œ Mm .˙ Œ .˙ Œ . ˙Œ .˙ . . ˙ ˙ Œ π p p p p .˙ œ œœn w mm, w mm, w mm, ˙ ˙ w w mm, ∏ ∏ ∏ ∏ a tempo a tempo a tempo a tempo œ œ œ ˙ Œ ww w ˙ ˙ w niente ∑ ˙ ˙ mourning, ˙ ˙ œ œA ˙ mourning, ˙ ˙ mourning, ˙ ˙ mourning, p p p p ∑ ˙ (ing) Ó Ó Ó Ó U U U U U U U U U & & V ? bbbb bbbb bbbb bbbb 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 S A T B 56 w œ ˙œ ˙ œ œ mourning.A œ œ ˙ œ mourning.A œ ˙. œ mourning.A ˙ ˙ œ mourning.A P P P P π π π π . ˙. ˙ œ œ voiceis ˙. œ œ voiceis ˙. œ voiceis . . ˙ ˙ œ Dvoiceis œ .˙ heardin œ œ œ œn heardinRa ˙. œ heardin . . ˙ ˙ œ heardin dim.dim.dim.dim. ˙ ˙n Ramah, œ .˙ mah, œ ˙ œœ .˙ Ramah, œ œ . . ˙ ˙ Ramah, œ ˙ œ heardinRa œ œ ˙n heardinRa ˙. œ heardin . . ˙ ˙ œ heardin ˙ ˙n mah, œ .˙ mah, œ ˙ œœ .˙ Ramah, œ œ . . ˙ ˙ Ramah, - 5This score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.
& & & V ? bbbb bbbb bbbb bbbb bbbb Solo S A T B 62 ∑ 62 œ .˙ heardin œ œ ˙n heardinRa ˙. œ heardin . . ˙ ˙ œ heardin ∑ œ .˙ Ra w ˙ ˙ ˙ Ra ˙ ˙ ˙ Ra ∑ ˙ ˙n mah. w mah. ww mah. w w mah. π π π π œ œ œ œ œ œ j œ œ œ Waj, œ â ä œ w Waj!(j) œ œ ∑ œ â œ œ ∑ Waj! œ â œ ∑ Waj! œ œ â œ ∑ Waj! Ï Ï Ï Ï f œ œ œ Waj. œ œ Waj. œ œ Waj. œ œ œ œ Waj. ∏ ∏ ∏ ∏ aspiratedaspiratedaspiratedaspiratedU U U U U u U U U - 6Dedicated to parents, their children, and the love between them that will never die. "I have loved you with an everlasting love." Jeremiah 31:3 This score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.