Marissa Deitz

Written for SSATB choir and piano, 2023

Program notes:

Well’s Gone Dry is a song about burnout, and the cyclical persistence of all the mundane or irrelevant obligations that pile up and get in the way of things that matter. That repetition is illustrated musically by the echoes between the sopranos and altos; later, the canon cascades throughout the full ensemble. The piano keeps time with a bed of low, repeated eighth notes, imitating the original cello accompaniment.

I wrote and recorded the initial version of Well’s GoneDry with just two layered voices with a delay effect and some strummed cello chords. Taking such a simple structure and arranging it for full choir was a rewarding challenge that transformed a quiet plea into a shout of many voices. Thank you Derek for trusting me with the arrangement and programming this piece again, and for everyone willing to lend their voices, time, and thoughtful presence to this incredible Free Key project!