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Mixed Choir
LGBTQ+ Music
Dream of Me as Water (2024)
for SATB choir and piano
Text: David Ly
Duration: 5 minutes
Difficulty: 2/4
Commissioned by Tone Cluster - quite a queer choir (Deirdre Kellerman, artistic director). First performed in Ottawa, ON by Tone Cluster in June 2024.
In 2023, I was commissioned by my friend and colleague Deirdre Kellerman to write a new piece for Tone Cluster, a queer choir in Ottawa. With the premiere scheduled for a concert on the theme of water, we were interested in exploring the idea of water as a metaphor for sexuality and gender fluidity.
I was drawn to this poem by the Vancouver-based poet David Ly for its mysterious, sensual imagery. David’s poetry often hints at something monstrous (perhaps a yassified Creature from the Black Lagoon?) but as we plunge into the depths, the language here is undeniably deep, rich, and comforting.
In my piece, I’ve depicted the texture of water through a glistening bell-like motif and billowing arpeggios in the piano. The music gradually moves from rhythmic instability and brightness in the first half, to stability and darkness in the second half. By the end of the piece, we have re-emerged as something new and grounded, transformed into the fullest version of our queer selves.
Click here to see the complete score.
The audio below is a live recording of the premiere performance by Tone Cluster (Deirdre Kellerman, dir.) with pianist Kim Farris-Manning in June 2024.
Full Text
Just call me friend
and I’ll hold
my breath for you.
Slink back
into this cuttle-
fish lagoon,
its neon pulses
a warning
to the stars
that they will
need to come
down to the dark
if the heavens
want you back.
Stay. Lay with me
in this murk, deep
out of sight
from the universe.
There is nothing
more soothing
than returning
to the water
with only
our unyielding
imagination
of whatever
we want to be,
once we sense
it’s safe
to re-emerge.
Text from “Dream of Me as Water: Poems” © David Ly, 2022.
Published by Palimpsest Press. Used with permission.