Oxymoron for SSAATTBB and SATB soloists, a cappella, 3’30”

Oxymoron represents a battle of conflicting views about women: who they are and who they should be. The choir sings the role of the voices to the far left of Zsuzsanna’s poem, while the quartet of soloists take on the role of the indented voices of objection. The piece begins with a dramatic opening, in which all characters are distressed about the possibility of strong women, whether it’s a melodramatic or comical sense of distress (on the side of the full choir), or a true sense of rejection of the idea of strong women in general (from the soloists). As the choir first sings the words, “Women of strength,” they are confident. The soloists interject with their doubts. Then, the choir, feeling somewhat bullied by these comments, begins to sing the text, “Women of strength?” with hesitancy. After another round of soloist interruptions, the choir gains a new sense of questioning and curiosity about strong women. As the final round of brutal feedback from the soloists progresses, the choir is feeling increasingly confident in their original belief in the power of women. With renewed tenacity, they interrupt the soprano soloist and proceed to hammer down their point. Written for Zsuzsanna Ardó's PlanetWoman project.

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