Sound & Light
from james (book of ruth)

for SATB chorus (or TTBB chorus) and piano with optional drumset

Duration: 5.5 minutes

Text: English by Zac Kline

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Program Note:

“Sound & Light” is from my oratorio james (book of ruth). In this scene, the protagonist James remembers the night he met Ruth and the man who would be his partner. They introduce him to a new community that accepts him for who he is, queer and HIV+, and supports him. The pop-song influenced form of the music points to a night out exploring queer bars and clubs, and while the lyrics celebrate new friendship, they also invite a different kind of exploration–personal reflection.

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Text:

You, you all alone,

There in the corner,

Not even trying

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Standing on your own,

Acting so shy there,

Eyes looking downward

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I, I say hello,

I ask your name and

Ask you to come dance with me

These are my friends

They’re yours now too

Come say hello

See where the people are

Your new friends

Come say hello

Don’t stand there all alone,

Come and dance

Sound and Light

     Sound and Light

Sound and Light

     Sound and Light

Okay, you’re dancing now

You’re feeling fine

A kind of ecstasy

A kind of energy

A kind of elegy

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A kind of elegy

for who you used to be

     who you don’t have to be—

A kind of elegy

for who you used to be

     who you don’t have to be—anymore

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Sound and Light          (We’re dancin' and dance in–)

     Sound and Light     (We’re dancin' and dance in–)

Sound and Light          (We’re dancin' and dance in–)

     Sound and Light     (We’re dancin' and dance in Sound and Light)

Come dance with the angels

who invented grief then destroyed it with beauty

with Sound, with Light

Premiere:

Inversion Ensemble with Trevor Shaw, conductor
Sam Kreidenweis as James
Mary Kettlewell as his mother
Katrina Saporsantos as Ruth

Recorded at KMFA Draylen Mason Music Studio, Austin, TX
Broadcast, June 25th, 2021

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