Titration
A SUMMER CELEBRATION:
SHARA NOVA’S TITRATION
The Crossing
Donald Nally, conductor
Saturday, August 13, 2022 @ 4pm
The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
PROGRAM
TITRATION (2022) Shara Nova
—East Coast premiere—
1. Freeze State
2. Safety In Peril or Calm
3. What’s the Vibe, Vagus?
4. Titration 1
5. How Do I Keep On Feelin’ In This Mean, Mean, World?
6. Emotion Wheel
7. Patterns of Protection
8. The Grief of Which I Rarely Speak
9. Titration 2
10. Turn Ya Head
11. Imagine A Favorite Place
12. I Seek to Change These Habits
13. Yes / No
14. I’m So Mad I Could Spit Nails
15. Notice Sensation
16. Pulses
17. Titration 3
NOTES + TEXTS
TITRATION
music and words by Shara Nova
TITRATION was commissioned by The Crossing - Donald Nally, conductor, the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center in Big Sky, Montana, & Conspirare - Craig Hella Johnson, conductor; with support from Anne and Dennis Wentz and the Joel Brauer Fund for New Music.
a note from the composer:
TITRATION is an hour long choral song cycle composed by Shara Nova which examines difficult emotions like fear, sorrow, disgust or rage through the lens of the nervous system and utilizes body-centered practices that develop one’s capacity to calm oneself when such emotions arise. In these times of conflict and crisis, how can we feel more, rather than less?
With simple actions like humming, shaking, holding hands or intentional laughter, the song cycle explores ways that we can soothe our nervous systems, foster a sense of safety, and grow in our capacity to connect with each other.
This music is greatly influenced by the Somatic Abolitionist body of work and practices of Resmaa Menakem. “Somatic Abolitionism is a living embodied Anti-Racism practice and culture building that requires endurance, agility, resource cultivation, stamina, discernment, self and communal discipline cultivation, embodied racial literacy and humility. These can be built, day by day, through reps. These communal life and invitational reps will temper and condition your body, your mind, and your soul to hold the charge of race.” By exposing a person to distress, then taking a pause to calm the body, one learns to pay close attention to the body sensations experienced and when revisiting the traumatic event, a person gradually becomes better able to process the pain.
Analogizing the healing techniques, the word “titration” is sung throughout the work, appearing in brief episodes which function as a “pause” between the more intensely emotional songs.
Additional influence for this work comes from polyvagal theory author Deb Dana, as well as practices by Qi-gong teacher Master Chunyi Lin and Laughter Yoga.
1– Freeze State
Freeze State
Motionless
So afraid
Of danger
Freeze
f-f-f-f-f-f-fr
So afraid
I could not sleep
I could not eat
So afraid
I didn’t know what to do
Unblinking
What are you talking about?
Say you are sorry.
A blank-ness
I told you not to go over there
If you touch him again I’m going to break your hand
Stare at the wall
I didn’t know what to do
Stare at the wall
Come to the bathroom
I didn’t know what to do
… but ff-ff-ff-ff-ff-freeze
Wiggle it out
2– Safety In Peril or Calm
Safety in peril or calm
I hum to myself
I am returning home
whenever and wherever I hum
Turning in
Tune to myself
Where is the pulse?
How do I feel?
and if I still don’t know
pause
If I still can't find calm
pause
3– What’s the Vibe, Vagus?
Vibe
What's the vibe?
How do you know before you know?
How do you know
what’s the vibe?
Vagus!
4– Titration 1
Titration
5– How Do I Keep On Feelin’ In This Mean, Mean World?
How do I keep on feelin’ in this mean, mean world?
How do I keep this softness alive with all this dying?
How do I build myself strong for the task at hand?
How? How?
How do I keep on feelin’ when I want to hide away?
Stay
Stay in the feeling
Stay in the feeling body
How?
Stay in the feeling in body
6– Emotion Wheel
A. Surprise
B. Happiness
C. Sadness
D. Disgust
E. Anger
F. Fear
G. Panic / Overwhelm
H. Surprise
I. Happiness
J. Disgust / Disappointment / Desperation / Repulsion /
Anger / Delight / Stress / Annoyance / Exasperation / Fury
7– Patterns of Protection
Pa
Pat
Patterns
Patterns of Protection
Notice the Silences
Notice the Subject Change
Notice the Shaking
Notice the Rage
Mother taught me the pattern
Father taught me the pattern
Neighbors kept a consensus
Patterns of Protection
Change the Pattern
8– The Grief of Which I Rarely Speak
The grief of which I rarely speak
finds its sound in private spaces
The hole of my mouth
is a pathway to the bottomless inkwell
I look for you in the blowing grass
I search for your cloud in my teacup
I check under my bootsoles
are you there?
in the hole in the sky
a hole in the ground
the lights have changed in my constellation
how do I know where I am without you?
In the wake of your passing I ache.
To those with easy sayings
To those with short answers,
leave me and let me weep a while.
The grief of which I rarely speak
And to know…
I ache.
In the wake of your passing, I ache.
I know you in the blowing grass
I know the cloud in my teacup
I check under my bootsoles
Are you there?
In the sky
The ground
Lights have changed in my constellation
How do I know where I am
Lights
How do I know
The lights
9– Titration 2
Titration
10– Turn Ya Head
Look Look Around
Turn ya head around
Notice the exits
Notice the window
Notice the entrances
Notice the path leading away
Notice the body
Notice the change
Notice sensation
Tingling
Numbness
Pressure
11– Imagine A Favorite Place
Imagine a favorite place
An open green field
Or a blowing wind through the forest
Imagine a favorite resting place
A candle flame on your nightstand
The coffee smell on the morning air
The afternoon light on your hugging chair
Imagine an ocean side or a cloud ride…
12– I Seek To Change These Habits
I seek to change these habits of avoidance
I disrupt my comfort
I interrupt my numbness
I brave disintegration
Exchange shame through honorable deeds
I seek to trade these habits of avoidance
For a new pattern
I disrupt my comfort
I interrupt my numbness
I brave disintegration
Exchange shame through honorable deeds
Do not abandon high ideals
Habits of harm
Do not run to distraction
Unresolved disappointments
Be curious curious
Projected fear
Curious
In cellular pattern
Increase Joy
your discomfort to find more Joy
Embrace this Terror
Joy
with persistent kindness
and insistence
Curious
Persistent Kindness
Curious
Kindness
Kindness
13– Yes / No
Yes / No
14– I’m So Mad I Could Spit Nails
I’m so mad I could spit nails
I might shoot fire from my ears
M y r a g e
M y r a g e
My rage is as old as an age
Titrate Try Titration
Voo Voo
My rage
My eyes are daggers for days
I make my point in different ways
My throat’s aflame a fire
My belly burnin’ up with ire
Comin’ easy to my lips
I’m so mad I could spit
I’m so mad I could spit nails
Somatic I could spit nails
I’m so mad
The feeling got me sick
I’m so mad I could spit
Enough! Enough! Enough! You are a pain in the neck
Enough! Enough! Enough! You might be my death
My rage
My head is burnin’ up
My head is burnin’
My rage
From where do you shake?
Shake it out
Shake it out
Shake it out
Shake it out
Pause
15– Notice Sensation
Check in with the Body
Pause
Notice constriction
Notice the places of movement
Notice
The gripping
The buzz
Notice the rate of your breath
The width of your shoulders
The feeling in your hips
Notice
What is the body telling you?
Pause
Practice the pausing
Notice sensation
16– Pulses
Do you know when we hold hands our pulses find one another?
Did you know when we hold hands our pulses find each other?
Find each other…
When we find each other, our pulses meet
17– Titration 3
TEAM
The Crossing
Katy Avery
Karen Blanchard
Micah Dingler
Joanna Gates
Dimitri German
Steven Hyder
A.J. Keller
Lauren Kelly
Anika Kildegaard
Maren Montalbano
Daniel O’Dea
Dan Taylor
Kyle Sackett
Becky Siler
Daniel Spratlan
Tiana Sorenson
Shari Wilson
Donald Nally, conductor
Kevin Vondrak, assistant conductor
John Grecia, keyboards
John Conahan, John Walthausen, guest rehearsal accompanists
Paul Vazquez, sound design
Jonathan Bradley, executive director
Stephanie Lantz-Goldstein, development manager
Shannon McMahon, operations manager
Elizabeth Dugan, bookkeeper
The Crossing’s concerts are recorded by Paul Vazquez
of Digital Mission Audio Services — digitalmissiononline.com
Concert artwork by Sasan Pix
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