As Days Repeat (2023)

for Voice and PIano

Duration: 3 min

Program Note

We have all had the experience of repeatedly saying a word until it begins to sound completely unfamiliar. In one moment a word can convey several layers of meaning, in the next, it can become a perplexing and amusing assortment of sounds. Recently, I learned that this phenomenon has a name: semantic satiation. I was inspired to compose a piece that staged the process of semantic satiation, and, in writing the text, I wrapped the concept inside a metaphor. The text begins with the question, “What does a day in endless days mean?” How do we find meaning in each day, when our experience of a day has been numbed, or “satiated,” by the seemingly endless stream of days in a lifetime? Repeat anything enough, and it will lose meaning

Performances

6/2023 - Songfest, Vanderbilt University; Amber Scherer, Reese Holahan

9/2024 - New York Festival of Song; Britt Hewitt, Nathaniel LaNasa