Work
I'm A-Going to Join the Band
for bass solo, SAB choir and piano
About
This is the third of 3 spirituals written early in 2005 with secondary school choirs in mind. Each takes a text from the African-American tradition of spirituals and sets it in a style suggestive of that tradition. The other two works are “Sunday Morning Band” and “Witness for my Lord”. As with the other pieces written around the same time, the voicing here is aimed at developing choirs or choirs with limited resources – in the original version three-part male voices rather than the more common TTBB layout. A solo bass (or baritone) voice takes a significant role in the piece, with the choir parts remaining fairly repetitive from verse to verse. After a slightly slower introduction, the music is underpinned by a strongly rhythmic piano part throughout. The text talks of joining a band – the band of those who belong to God. There are references to typical images of the spirituals – the Jordan river, Joshua’s well-known battle, and Galilee.
Contents note
The original version, for TBB choir, was written for Voicemale (Westlake Boys High School, Auckland). This SAB version was made at the request of conductor Robert Howell.
The score is available from the composer (contact info@sounz.org.nz).