Max Vinetz - "marginal at best" (2018), for chamber choir [Score Follow]

Max Vinetz - "marginal at best" (2018), for chamber choir
Premiered April 7, 2018 by singers from Yale Voxtet and Yale Schola Cantorum
www.maxvinetz.com/marginal-at...
www.maxvinetz.com
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Conductor: Jasmine Gelber
Sopranos: Addy Sterrett, Isobel Anthony
Countertenor: Bradley Sharpe
Alto: Emma Simmons
Tenors: Hannah Goodwillie, Will Watson
Basses: Ned Vogel, Zak Fletcher
text: selections from "Marginal at Best," (2014), Anonymous
i: all I am//
ii: if I was anything more (her)
i
all I am is marginally curious
in my head, curiosity is some unrelenting force that propels people to explore their
world
yet all I am is marginally curious
I would know
yet I can't build the courage to break down my limitations
I begin to fall asleep
conversations
her
I would talk to her
it took her to set
who am I
ii
if I was anything more, I would build up the courage to talk to her
we'd compare perspectives and laugh at the differences
and appreciate the world anew
Program note:
marginal at best is based on prose excerpts from my high school's literary magazine (aptly titled called Litmag) that I rediscovered in the winter of 2017. When I flipped through the tattered magazine, I stumbled upon a long piece of prose called “marginal at best,” in which the teenage author proceeds to confess about their lost loves, failures, but most importantly their inability to develop a significant interest in any single aspect of life.
At the time of discovering this work, I was so drawn to the unfiltered honesty behind the words that I wanted to set the text and highlight the relatability of the adolescent author’s thoughts, beliefs, and life experiences. As people, we are often told to “pursue our passions” or something of the like. Yet, a passion is quite hard to come by, and can waver over time. As a composer, I have especially felt the waxing and waning of my own love for writing music over time. Much of my relationship with writing music has fluctuated as a result of the economic conditions surrounding the creation and performance of new music (and especially sustaining a career primarily through composition).

[@jeremiahcummings509]

very, very beautiful. you demonstrate a deep engagement with the text and your style matches the text well also. the chords in m. 186-197 are some of the most well set i’ve seen in contemporary choral music. also ensemble is EXCEPTIONAL. i would love to have this on spotify!

[@misha_fominn]

when I listen to your music it always seems to me that is woven from love

[@GlennScottLacey]

This piece hits so deeply, it feels very personal and honest. Wonderful!

[@maxvinetz]

Thank you so so so much!

[@machida5114]

sodelicious............................

[@BelaJanosToth]

van 3-gitárom! és van 1- Casio CTK 700-as szintetizátorom! szinte minden zenét kedvelek! / és átlátok. "demagógákon, rendszereken", ergo, rajtad is! az '50-es években? ministráns voltam! 'anno latinul ment, a laudetur! Nem baj, ha ezt egy 20-30-éves, nem érti meg! én a Forint-évében születtem! 1 9 4 6- ban! T.B.J.

[@drumming_cat]

What's up with the word "I" in the basses not having a note on measure 100?