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Damien Geter’s Cantata for a More Hopeful Tomorrow

“Just breathe.” The tone changes in the second stanza by Geter in the score, is playing, “On the bridge, cre-
as “disruptions” make even the natural act of breath- ating a breathy, non-pitched effect,” representing the
ing difficult: “Now we don’t know how to breathe.” struggle for breath one might experience when stricken
The third stanza reflects a loss of confidence and hope with COVID-19. Harmonics, set in a steady, repeated
with the words, “shaken” and “stirred”; however, Sei pattern, evoke the sound of a hospital monitor.
encourages the reader: “We must continue to breathe.” Most of the movement is set in the Dorian mode,
The final stanza urges the reader to turn inward to re- and Geter frequently employs dissonance as well as
gain a sense of peace. The final line recalls the end of high vocal registers to create a feeling of anxiety. The
the first stanza, “Learn again to just breathe.” Sei uses vocal lines in various combinations clash at the interval
“breathe” in a literal way but also as a metaphor for of a second (sometimes displaced by an octave). The
finding balance and strength during difficult times. soprano 1 part remains in a high register, often around
Musically, Geter begins this movement with a D5–F5. Geter further illustrates the text with moments
four-measure passage for solo cello followed by stag- of word painting, such as “shaken” and “stirred,”
gered vocal entrances, with multiple repetitions of “Just which he sets with rapid sixteenth-note triplets.
breathe.” The repeated figures evoke calming self-talk. In Section D, the key changes to C major, reflecting
The melody enters but is obscured by the simultane- the more hopeful text of the final stanza. Here, Geter
ous polyphony. At the climax of the B section, Geter uses more traditional triadic harmonies and employs a
repeats the text, “don’t know how to breathe,” setting more conventional chord progression, suggesting stabil-
it homophonically as duplets in compound meter, and ity. The concluding A’ section features long, melismatic
culminates the phrase with a cluster chord, underscor- soprano lines that oscillate between C and D and create
ing the anxiety expressed in the text (Figure 2 on the a feeling of suspension. Although this final section is in
next page). the key of C, the movement ends with a sustained G
Geter uses various compositional techniques pitch in the altos and the cello, again employing tonlos.
throughout the movement to illustrate the text. In the By ending the movement this way, the composer cap-
A sections, he employs two extended techniques in the tures both glimpses of hope and the lingering uncer-
cello part: tonlos and harmonics, sul D. Tonlos, described tainty that characterize this middle movement.

Table 4. Musical overview of “Breathe”

A B A’ C D A’’

Measures 1-23 24-35 36-43 44-60 61-77 78-94

Stanza 1 2 1 (line 4) 3 & 2 (line 4) 4 1 (line 4)

Key D Dorian C major

Meter 2/4 6/8 2/4 2/4, 4/4, 4/8, 2/8 4/4, 2/4 3/4, 4/4

Tempo Q=55 DQ=70 Q=55 Q=70 Q=62

74 CHORAL JOURNAL November/December 2025 Volume 66 Number 4