A collection of Haiku Kai. Commissioned for the 2002 World Choral Symposium, May Sky is based on haiku written by Japanese and Japanese-American detainees in camps in the American West.

As one of the most active and successful composers working today, Libby Larsen has produced a substantial body of important works for orchestra, dance, opera, choral, chamber and solo performance. Recognized for 'her subtle and sophisticated harmony, revealing an extraordinary capacity for combining seemingly dissimilar elements with great ease' her works are widely performed and recorded. This is a fine collection of her arrangements that are challenging, rewarding and lots of fun to sing. 'The Witches' Trio' from Hamlet is particularly interesting and the short and sweet 'Jack's Valentine' (written for Jack Keroauc) is a gem.

When I first read Catherine de Vinck's jubilant celebration of birth, renewal, and life 'The Womanly Song of God' (the complete poem appears on page 27), I heard it as a head-tossing, laughing, dancing first-person soliloquy. I was immediately drawn to its energy and set out to compose a work with exactly the same feeling. The Choir acts both as a singing group and as drumming group. The piece begins with a 'call to the dance' consisting of an upward scale that builds to a diatomic nine-note chord. Following this, the choir becomes a drumming group, spinning sung rhythmic patterns into a buoyant accompaniment to the sung text. C major (Ionian mode) anchors the piece tonally. As the piece progresses, the choir, as drumming group, adds foot-stomping and hand-clapping, until the piece becomes a vibrant song-dance. - Libby Larsen

There are three songs making up this cycle entitled 'Western Songs' - Buffalo Gals, Green Grow the Lilacs, and Ol'Chisholm Trail. The arrangements by turn spin contrapuntal and antiphonal textures then relax intomeltingly beautiful chords, while glissandi and yipping vocal slides evoke the sounds of the barn dance the cattle drive. Lots of fun!