Incantation

SATB Choir, a Cappella

I have long admired Jaakko Mäntyjärvi’s “Double, Double, Toil and Trouble” from his Four Shakespeare Songs as being one of my favorite choral works. I love how the line “Double, double, toil and trouble” acts as a rhythmic drone throughout the piece, how the meter is always changing, how vocal effects like slides and chants are used... the list goes on. I’ve always wanted to compose a work of my own with a rhythmic drone like this one. I’ve also always wanted to compose a choral song in phrygian. This piece is the marriage of those two ideas.

In October of 2018, the Duquesne University Composer’s Society (affectionately called DUCS for short) held a Halloween-themed composition contest, and I knew I wanted to enter it. I stumbled across the poem “Incantation” by George Parsons Lathrop, and immediately knew it’s the text I wanted to set. There is a clear pre-ritual, ritual, and post-ritual structure, with the ritual growing in intensity until the post-ritual has a sense of eerie calm. Also, the line “Autumn work thy witchery!” was a perfect theme for the piece that acted as the aforementioned rhythmic undertone. (The fact that both this piece and “Double, Double, Toil and Trouble” are Halloween-themed is purely coincidental.) I wrote the piece in a month, with frequent sprints from my dorm room to a practice room when I had ideas. And yes, it won the DUCS contest.

The piece uses an irregular 12/8 (3+2+2+3+2) meter to make the piece feel unnatural, yet have driving motion. The phrygian mode is also taken advantage of, with frequent small lifts from the i chord to its characteristic bII chord. Some subito dynamic changes are present throughout the piece, keeping listeners on their toes, and vocal effects are used, with the sopranos imitating crows and ghosts.

This piece will soon be performed and recorded by the Continuum Vocal Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. John McDonald. Check back soon for a recording!