Karen Sunabacka—Falling in the Water (2008) [Video]

Available for purchase in multiple formats: https://www.ravellorecords.com/catalog/rr8074/

Falling in the Water (2008) is for solo piano with electronics. Karen largely composed the electronic part using the recorded voices of six teenage girls in a Leader-in-Training (LIT) program, lead by her and another woman leader. She gathered the recordings in June and July of 2004, while serving as the director of this program at a wilderness camp situated on Lake of the Woods in northern Ontario. She worked at this camp for four months every summer during her early 20s, and was always amazed by the changes and growth of the girls in the LIT program.

This piece is inspired by the resilience and strength demonstrated by those teenage girls as they negotiated a two-week wilderness canoe trip down a river and a demanding two-week leadership program at the site of the camp. With the permission of the camp and the girls in the program, Karen recorded highlights of the trip. Falling in the Water focuses on the girls’ different experiences of water during the canoe trip portion of the program.

This piece is so immersive and experiential to play. I find the interaction of the piano part and the electronic part so moving, and never tire of its depiction of the peace of nature, the thrill of cliff jumping, and the power of a thunderstorm in the Canadian Shield.