I'm A-Waiting and A-Watching

Joseph Seamon Cotter, Jr. (1895-1919)

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SATB (div.) choir, a cappella

Second place, Sacra Profana Composition Contest, 2010

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Available through manuscript

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I'm A-Waiting and A-Watching is a modern hymn-like choral work in three verses, expressing yearning anticipation for the great afterlife.  While largely diatonic, this setting of African-American poet Joseph Seamon Cotter has a few surprises up its sleeve, including some interesting moments of mode mixture and metric instability, as well as a satisfying build to the final verse. 

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