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Reena Esmail

Composer

I do not know what I know (version for soprano and piano)

June 3, 2023 by

soprano + orchestra version of Aria from ‘Say Your Name‘
Amherst College Choir and Orchestra,
Arianne Abela, conductor; Sherezade Panthaki, soprano

Program Notes

When a person is gaslit, they are taught to not trust their own mind, their memories and reasoning. Their thoughts become rearranged, and with their thoughts, their reality. This can be true for an abused domestic partner, and it can be true for a public confused by disinformation and propaganda. To start toward healing, one must name the confusion for what it is. I Do Not Know What I Know is an aria that eerily reveals this struggle for Democracy, as she begins to fight for her own clarity and her right to fact. Adapted for individual performance from Say Your Name, a voting-rights cantata composed by Reena Esmail and written by Rebecca Gayle Howell.

Recording

see video above (recording for soprano/piano version is forthcoming)

Text

excerpt:

Have you
been controlled?

Have you been told you’re wrong
when you’re right?

[…]

Have you ever been
too scared

to breathe

I have
I have

for the full text of this work, please contact us.

Premiere/Performances

Say Your Name was commissioned by Amherst College Choir and Orchestra. It was premiered on November 5, 2022 at Amherst College, Amherst MA by Sherezade Panthaki, soprano; Alice Rogers, soprano; Amherst Choir and orchestra, Arianne Abela, conductor

Press/Reviews

(this score will be available soon for purchase. Please contact us for more information)

Instrumentation: soprano and piano

Duration: 5′

Year: 2022

Movements: 1 (aria from Say Your Name)

Languages: English

Commissioned by: Amherst College Choir and Orchestra

Program Notes

Recording

Text

Premiere/Performances

Press/Reviews

Esmail is the Los Angeles Master Chorale’s 2020-2025 Swan Family Artist in Residence, and was Seattle Symphony’s 2020-21 Composer-in-Residence. She also holds awards/fellowships from United States Artists, the S&R Foundation, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Kennedy Center.

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Contact Details

Requesting a perusal copy of choral music
Email: [email protected]

Offer volume discounts to wholesalers for print orders
Please inquire at: [email protected]

All other inquiries
Please email: [email protected]

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