| Numinous The Music of Joseph C. Phillips Jr. |
The Undisappeared (2021)
The Undisappeared (2021)
Words by Joseph C Phillips Jr
commissioned by The Crossing, Donald Nally conductor
(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 from many composers new to The Crossing, all addressing the topic of the pandemic through their idea of carol. The piece will premiere in December 2021 and will be on a recording of Carols after a Plague by The Crossing, releasing in 2022.
My piece was inspired by my experience during the early days of the world-wide pandemic: I don’t know exactly when in those scary, uncertain early days of the pandemic, in March 2020 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.
Most evenings our family would come outside on our stoop and we clapped, cheered, and gave thanks along with everyone else. After the cheering faded everyone would disappear back inside. As the weeks went on however, after the 7 pm cheering, we would stay outside with our neighbors on the stoop rather than return inside. Spread out among two adjoining stoops, we talked, laughed, and shared stories and wine. And evening by evening, the news of growing social justice protests against systemic injustice mingled with our own more mundane individual realities; and story by story, our worries and fears during the pandemic began to lessen as we found true connections with friends. And in doing so, together, we all undisappeared.
Cover photo: Friends on our, and our neighbors stoop, June 12, 2020.
Words by Joseph C Phillips Jr
commissioned by The Crossing, Donald Nally conductor
(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 from many composers new to The Crossing, all addressing the topic of the pandemic through their idea of carol. The piece will premiere in December 2021 and will be on a recording of Carols after a Plague by The Crossing, releasing in 2022.
My piece was inspired by my experience during the early days of the world-wide pandemic: I don’t know exactly when in those scary, uncertain early days of the pandemic, in March 2020 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.
Most evenings our family would come outside on our stoop and we clapped, cheered, and gave thanks along with everyone else. After the cheering faded everyone would disappear back inside. As the weeks went on however, after the 7 pm cheering, we would stay outside with our neighbors on the stoop rather than return inside. Spread out among two adjoining stoops, we talked, laughed, and shared stories and wine. And evening by evening, the news of growing social justice protests against systemic injustice mingled with our own more mundane individual realities; and story by story, our worries and fears during the pandemic began to lessen as we found true connections with friends. And in doing so, together, we all undisappeared.
Cover photo: Friends on our, and our neighbors stoop, June 12, 2020.
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.