| Numinous The Music of Joseph C. Phillips Jr. |
The Undisappeared (2021)
The Undisappeared (2021)
Words and music by Joseph C Phillips Jr
commissioned by The Crossing and conductor Donald Nally by Mark & Rebecca Bernstein, Laura Ward & David Newmann, Laura Madeleine, William Toffey & Kathryn Krantz, Cynthia Jarvis, and Andrew Quint.
(Unaccompanied SATB choir: Soprano 1 & 2, Alto 1 & 2, Tenor 1 & 2, Bass 1 & 2)
6 minutes
The Undisappeared was commissioned by The Crossing for their project Carols after a Plague: a collection of new works from composers Leila Adu, Alex Berko, Edith Canat de Chizy, Viet Cuong, Samantha Fernando, Vanessa Lann, Mary Jane Leach, Shara Nova, Joseph C. Phillips Jr., Nina Shekhar, Tyshawn Sorey, LJ White. All the commissions are addressing the topic of the pandemic through their idea of carol.
My piece was inspired by my experience during the early days of the world-wide pandemic:
On our block in Brooklyn—in those scary, uncertain early days of the pandemic—whether inside our apartment, outside in our back yard, or walking our dog around the now cleared out neighborhood, we often would hear the ambulances screaming toward the hospital, a constant reminder that we were no longer in the before times. We were mostly at our apartment all day, battling online school as well as our own fears and worries, but thankfully we could work and stay home and be together. Of course, not everyone could.
I don’t know exactly when in March 2020 it began, but at 7 pm each evening the people of New York City started to lean out windows, fill backyards & rooftops, and gather on stoops and streets to cheer essential workers—those that could not stay home because they treated the sick and dying, stocked the grocery store shelves, or still drove the buses and subway trains so that the city (and the lives of others) could continue, even if only partially.
Just before 7 pm most evenings our family would come outside on our stoop—a little tentative in the early days, not quite sure exactly what to do or how to do it—and at the right time, we clapped, cheered, and gave thanks along with everyone else. After the cheering faded, everyone would disappear back into their lives inside. As the weeks went by however, people were more confident in their revels (I would often bring outside the hand bell choir bells I bought and used for my The Grey Land monoopera; also, in the distance, we could hear cow bells, whistles, and some evenings, a trumpet); but now, after the cheering, unlike in the earlier days—as the spring weather began warming—we would stay outside with neighbors on the stoop until well after sunset (even past the curfew that was in place for much of the lockdown). Spread out among two adjoining stoops, we talked, laughed, and shared stories and wine; and those of us with kids, let them play freely with each other on the sidewalk as we watched, thankful to have a ‘pod’ for them to once again be with other kids, at least for a little while.
And evening by evening, while still hearing the sirens’ doppler up along the parkway, while watching and attending the growing social justice protests against the systemic injustice and racism in American society, and while facing our more mundane realities of an “everyday sameness” in our ‘inside lives,’ collectively, story by story, together our worries and fears about what we’ve lost during the pandemic began to lessen as we found out what we gained: true connections with friends. And in doing so, we all undisappeared. —Joseph C Phillips Jr, May 2, 2021
The recording was released December 9, 2022 on New Focus Records. You can purchase the album at:
https://newfocusrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/carols-after-a-plague
Cover photo: Friends on our, and our neighbor's stoop, June 12, 2020.
Words and music by Joseph C Phillips Jr
commissioned by The Crossing and conductor Donald Nally by Mark & Rebecca Bernstein, Laura Ward & David Newmann, Laura Madeleine, William Toffey & Kathryn Krantz, Cynthia Jarvis, and Andrew Quint.
(Unaccompanied SATB choir: Soprano 1 & 2, Alto 1 & 2, Tenor 1 & 2, Bass 1 & 2)
6 minutes
The Undisappeared was commissioned by The Crossing for their project Carols after a Plague: a collection of new works from composers Leila Adu, Alex Berko, Edith Canat de Chizy, Viet Cuong, Samantha Fernando, Vanessa Lann, Mary Jane Leach, Shara Nova, Joseph C. Phillips Jr., Nina Shekhar, Tyshawn Sorey, LJ White. All the commissions are addressing the topic of the pandemic through their idea of carol.
My piece was inspired by my experience during the early days of the world-wide pandemic:
On our block in Brooklyn—in those scary, uncertain early days of the pandemic—whether inside our apartment, outside in our back yard, or walking our dog around the now cleared out neighborhood, we often would hear the ambulances screaming toward the hospital, a constant reminder that we were no longer in the before times. We were mostly at our apartment all day, battling online school as well as our own fears and worries, but thankfully we could work and stay home and be together. Of course, not everyone could.
I don’t know exactly when in March 2020 it began, but at 7 pm each evening the people of New York City started to lean out windows, fill backyards & rooftops, and gather on stoops and streets to cheer essential workers—those that could not stay home because they treated the sick and dying, stocked the grocery store shelves, or still drove the buses and subway trains so that the city (and the lives of others) could continue, even if only partially.
Just before 7 pm most evenings our family would come outside on our stoop—a little tentative in the early days, not quite sure exactly what to do or how to do it—and at the right time, we clapped, cheered, and gave thanks along with everyone else. After the cheering faded, everyone would disappear back into their lives inside. As the weeks went by however, people were more confident in their revels (I would often bring outside the hand bell choir bells I bought and used for my The Grey Land monoopera; also, in the distance, we could hear cow bells, whistles, and some evenings, a trumpet); but now, after the cheering, unlike in the earlier days—as the spring weather began warming—we would stay outside with neighbors on the stoop until well after sunset (even past the curfew that was in place for much of the lockdown). Spread out among two adjoining stoops, we talked, laughed, and shared stories and wine; and those of us with kids, let them play freely with each other on the sidewalk as we watched, thankful to have a ‘pod’ for them to once again be with other kids, at least for a little while.
And evening by evening, while still hearing the sirens’ doppler up along the parkway, while watching and attending the growing social justice protests against the systemic injustice and racism in American society, and while facing our more mundane realities of an “everyday sameness” in our ‘inside lives,’ collectively, story by story, together our worries and fears about what we’ve lost during the pandemic began to lessen as we found out what we gained: true connections with friends. And in doing so, we all undisappeared. —Joseph C Phillips Jr, May 2, 2021
The recording was released December 9, 2022 on New Focus Records. You can purchase the album at:
https://newfocusrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/carols-after-a-plague
Cover photo: Friends on our, and our neighbor's stoop, June 12, 2020.
Reviews:
"The music of 'The Undisappeared' reflects the gentle spirit of the phenomenon, not its acoustic efflorescence. That feels right, because with its combination of cheering and loud mourning that custom well represented the soul of the pandemic era."
--Jon Sobel, BlogCritics.org
“'The Undisappeared' by Joseph C. Phillips Jr. makes for a nice juxtaposition; Phillips’ music is more tonally centered, calm, and peaceful in its own way. The work...memorializes the days in the beginning of the pandemic..."
--Clover Nahabedian, I Care If You Listen
"Joseph C Phillips also sets his own words in 'The Undisappeared,' talking about the moment each evening during lockdown when people came out of their hiding to cheer essential workers. Phillips, by contrast, creates something that is haunting and melodic, a soprano solo line providing a striking melody whose fragments weave their way through the work."
--Planet Hugill
--Jon Sobel, BlogCritics.org
“'The Undisappeared' by Joseph C. Phillips Jr. makes for a nice juxtaposition; Phillips’ music is more tonally centered, calm, and peaceful in its own way. The work...memorializes the days in the beginning of the pandemic..."
--Clover Nahabedian, I Care If You Listen
"Joseph C Phillips also sets his own words in 'The Undisappeared,' talking about the moment each evening during lockdown when people came out of their hiding to cheer essential workers. Phillips, by contrast, creates something that is haunting and melodic, a soprano solo line providing a striking melody whose fragments weave their way through the work."
--Planet Hugill
Thanks and credit to all the original photos on this website to: David Andrako, Concrete Temple Theatre, Marcy Begian, Ed Lefkowicz, Donald Martinez, Kimberly McCollum, Geoff Ogle, Joseph C. Phillips Jr., Daniel Wolf-courtesy of Roulette, Andrew Robertson, Viscena Photography, Jennifer Wohrle, Carolyn Wolf, Mark Elzey, Numinosito. The Numinous Changing Same album design artwork by DM Stith. The Numinous The Grey Land album design and artwork by Brock Lefferts. Contact for photo credit and information on specific images.