a cappella SATB choir
text by Cesare Pavese
5’00”
composed 2005
composed for and premiered by the Ball State University Concert Choir (Muncie, Indiana)
Composer’s Note
Gioia is one of two works by the composer that deals with the musical representation of joy. The first work, Júbilo, presents joy as a rambunctious dance of ecstacy, one that eventually self-destructs due to its own hyper-activity.
The joy presented in this work is not the ecstatic, reckless joy presented in that work, but rather is a whimsical yet complex joy - one full of intangables, but optimistic none-the-less. Working from the Italian word for joy, Gioia spins rhythmic gestures of celebration and optimism while always allowing for a certain amount of uncertainity to enter the harmonic language.
Grace notes are used to create a sense of whimsy and free-spirit, which in turn transform into moments of insecure dissonance. Balancing these two opposites are sections of chant-like material that represents a calming universal presence, keeping the joy in this work grounded. Much of this representation of joy centers around the text of the work - a quotation by the Italian poet Cesare Pavese.
The quotation, "L'unica gioia al mondo é cominciare," translates into English as "The only joy in the world is to begin."
Commissioned by the Ball State University Concert Choir, Jill Burleson, director.