Chamber (2006)
(for three (untrained) amplified (male) voices)

Chamber is built around a simple, poetic sound-image: a voice tries to sing a note just outside its uppermost range. Tremendous, possibly damaging, strain is exerted on the vocal cords, resulting in a richly textured shadow tone or 'colored air' sound rife with fragility, vulnerability, and distant violence. In its prolonged striving for the unattainable, this sound lays bare the anatomy of one particular species of failure and the poignant, hopeful effort that ensheathes its quiet, desperate tension.

-Mark Barden