Composer
Mari Esabel Valverde
Lyricist
Amir Rabiyah
Publisher
Mari Esabel Valverde
Score Status
Self-Published
Our Phoenix (2015)
for SATB chorus, piano, and trumpet, ca. 4′
Commissioned by GALA Choruses for GALA Festival 2016 in Denver, Colorado. Co-commissioned for Our Song of Atlanta, Georgia, One Voice Chorus of Charlotte, North Carolina, River City Mixed Chorus of Omaha, Nebraska, One Voice Mixed Chorus of St. Paul, Minnesota, The Esoterics of Seattle, Washington, Singing Out of Toronto, Ontario, Voices of Kentuckiana of Louisville, Kentucky, Confluence of Willamette Valley, Oregon, and The European Queer Choir.
Composer’s Notes
This song, I feel, is an act of love. It is likely among the first of its kind with words by a queer, two- spirit poet and music by a transgender female composer. In a time when trans people are more visible than ever, we know that, just since the start of 2015, over 20 transgender Americans have been reported murdered at the hands of impassioned cowards. We also know that approximately 40% of trans Americans are documented to have attempted suicide. There are many obstacles for our LGBTQ family, and while it is not constructive to compare them by their gravities, we must acknowledge the egregious undervaluing of our trans* population.
“Fight for the freedom of others because their freedom is your freedom.” –A.C. Ping
Our Phoenix is ours because we, the people, the queer population and our allies, all of us share this life struggle. When one stripe of our rainbow is denied the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, when we are targeted, harassed, assaulted and pushed beyond the edge of mortality, the
impact comes back for everyone. We only have ourselves to hold accountable, and our response will set the tone for the generations who survive us.
My inspiration and strategy for this composition derive from the words “clay,” “phoenix,” “burning,” “bright,” “beyond survival,” “loving,” and “victory.” The mention of “clay” is a metaphor for humus, the stuff from which our spiritual humanity was formed; “burning” suggests an, albeit, hazardous process of forging us into something that will endure; and the “phoenix”—from the Greek Φοίνιξ—is an allusion to the incandescent bird that, in its rebirth, rises from the ashes to exist and persist forever. The work is undoubtedly a lamentation, an outcry, and a rousing to a movement for equality. We must demand more from ourselves for ourselves and for those who follow us. Let us, then, be like the phoenix and rise.
Voicing
Text Language
Difficulty
Duration
Characteristics
Theme
Civil Rights
Discontent
Indigenous/2-Spirit
LGBTQ+ Rights
Protest
Trans/Nonbinary