Net'avi Ratme Maktsia (SATB)

Composed for TTBB choir with solo Countertenor and Baritone and then adapted in 2024 for SATB choir with solo Soprano and Tenor, this piece is from a beautiful Georgian folk love poem. During my time in Afghanistan, we did a lot of work with the Georgian military, and I was always very impressed by their culture and music, so I decided to do some research into it. Georgian music is some of the oldest polyphonic music in the world, and that ancient sound is reflected in the "chant" parts of this piece. Modern chordal movements are also included to contrast the old with the new while still maintaining continuity throughout. There is both positivity and pain in this piece which is appropriate for both the narrator of the poem and for the country of Georgia itself.

ნეტავი რათმე მაკცია

ბულბულად გადამაკცია

ბულბულის ენა მაწავლა

ბაღებში შემომაჩვია

დავკონო ოქროს კონები

დავპერო ვერცხლის წყალიშია

საღამო ხანზე გიახლო

ჩამოგიყარო ბანშია

დილით რო გამოსულიყვე

შიგ გაგეხვიოს კავშია

I wish I could turn into something:

Turn into a nightingale,

And learn the nightingales' language;

I'd come to dwell in the garden.

I'd gather up golden bouquets,

Dip them in liquid silver,

I'd come to you in the evening,

And lay them on your roof.

When you come out in the morning,

May they be entwined in your curls!