Birth of a Choral Drama

In the fall of 1962 a French stewardess working an Allegheny Airlines flight was tragically sucked from the plane, plummeting to her death.  Upon reading the brief articles about the incident, poet James Dickey was inspired to compose his longest and “most startling” poem about the tragic event.  Fast forward to 2000 when the Sandlapper Singers decided to commission a new choral work based on this epic poem, selecting Minnesotan, Libby Larsen, well known for her innovative and creative works in all musical genres. 

USC faculty involved in the project were Matthew Bruccoli, executor of Dickey’s literary estate, Don Greiner, chair of the Department of English. A generous grant was obtained from the South Carolina Humanities Commission to underwrite the project of funding a two-day symposium on poetry and music, the commissioning, Larsen’s attendance for the symposia and performance, and a nationwide adjudicated composition contest for students to set two of Dickey’s other poems, “The Heaven of Animals” and “The Performance”. 

All three pieces were premiered at a concert in the Koger Center on September 8, 2001.  Ironically just three days later our nation witnessed the falling deaths of many victims of the terrorist attacks on the twin towers in New York City.  Both the composer and the performers were stunned, not only by the tragedy, but how it recalled the poetry and emotional content of the recent performance.

On Friday, February 19, 2016, the Sandlapper Singers in collaboration with the USC Department of Music will once again welcome internationally renowned composer Libby Larsen to Columbia for a repeat performance of “Falling” along with several other of Larsen’s compositions.  The performance will be held in the more intimate setting of the Recital Hall at the Department of Music at 7:30 p.m.

The unique character of “Falling”, labeled a new musical genre by Larsen as a “choral drama,” is its exposition of the breadth of human emotion.  By juxtaposing several dramatic and musical elements, Larsen propels the listener into the final moments of Francois de Moliere’s life and its dramatic and tragic end.  The Sandlapper Singers provide the emotional commentary to engage the audience, while the USC faculty quartet exposes the poetic text.  The graduate trio acts as a “sidebar” giving commercial, almost comedic relief to the intensity of the text, and the piano, trumpet, and percussion provide the color and accent the drama to heighten the experience.

Tickets for the event may be ordered by visiting the Sandlapper Singers website.