Zachary Wadsworth
This piece, Two Counting Carols, is a boisterous, rhythmic romp for men’s chorus and instrumental ensemble. It emerged after Erick Lichte, director of Chor Leoni, exposed me to two lesser-known (but still enormously catchy) traditional carols: “The Twelve Apostles” and “The Seven Joys of Mary.” The former is similar in structure to “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” with each verse growing cumulatively longer as the singers develop a twelve-item list. The latter, though not cumulative in structure, still involves counting, with each verse listing one of Mary’s seven “joys.” I’ve set the first carol in a more delicate style, featuring the bright, clear tones of the piano, harp, and pitched percussion, while the second carol is more angular and extroverted, emphasizing the strummed guitar, low piano, and drums.