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Gregory Spears

The Neighboring Village

for SATB choir and 2 recorder players

(2024)
Text informationText by Franz Kafka
Duration13'
Movements

IntroductionSetting ISetting IISetting IIISetting IV

CommissionCommissioned by The Virginia Chorale for its 40th Aniversary Season and In Honor of Artistic Director Charles J. Woodward
PremiereApril 20-21, 2024; Norfolk, Virginia; Virginia Chorale • Charles Woodward, conductor
LanguageEnglish
Authorized translationsTranslation by Alexander Rehding
Instrumentation2 Recorders
player one: Sop. Alt. and Ten.
player two: Sop. Alt. and Ten.

S (also playing school bell)
A
T
B (also playing bass drum)

(minimum 12 singers)
PublisherSchott Music

Media

Program Note

THE NEIGHBORING VILLAGE consists of three-and-a-half settings of a two-sentence short story by Franz Kafka, and a musical enactment of the telescoping of time that the story describes. The first setting is one minute in length. Setting two is twice as long at two minutes. Setting three is twice as long as that at four minutes. Setting four is slower still. It would be eight minutes if allowed to continue at the pace set, but ends mid-sentence, only half-way through the text.

As narrative becomes less taut in each setting, the story’s meaning is expressed more purely through form — the short journey/story becomes, in these settings, increasingly eternal — the destination of the village receding farther and farther into the distance. The final setting is just partial, as at that point we can imagine the process of telescoping continuing into infinity.

In my reading, Kafka seems to offer us two linked perspectives: While we can hope to achieve almost nothing in life (there’s both not enough time and endless digressions to face), in the end everything we could want — perhaps even total abundance, timelessness — lies in the expanding distance between here and the very next village.

– Gregory Spears

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Pricing reflects cost of 5 digital scores.

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Full Score/Performance Score (5 copies required for performance) (Print)

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Full Score/Performance Score (price reflects 6 copies) (Digital)

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Free ToneBase Digital Download (Digital)

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Full Score/Performance Score (3 scores required for performance) (Digital)

Free download with code ToneBaseFree (Digital)

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Voice and Piano Score (Print)

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Includes 8 copies of the soprano/alto part and 8 copies of the tenor/bass part.

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Full Score/Performance Score (2 required for performance) (Print)

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Full Score/Performance Score (Digital)
The full score serves as a performance score for all players. A score PDF file is delivered via email upon receipt. Any electronic files associated with the work are included with every purchase. An email containing a link to download the electronic files is sent to the customer's email address.

Score and Parts (Print)
A print edition of the score and part(s) ship to the customer's address upon receipt. Any electronic files associated with the work are included with every purchase. The email containing a link to download the electronic files is sent to the customer.

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Full Score/Performance Score (Print)
The full score serves as a performance score for all players. Print edition(s) of the full score/performance score are shipped to the customer's address upon receipt. Multiple copies are included if the work has more than one player. Any electronic files associated with the work are included with every purchase.

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Study Score (print) (Print)

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Mezzo-soprano, 2 tenors, baritone score (Print)

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Study Score (Digital)

SATB choral score (Digital)

Mezzo-soprano, 2 tenors, baritone score (Digital)