Original Compositions - Shane Raman https://shaneraman.ca Vancouver-based baritone, composer, music educator, and choral conductor Wed, 20 May 2026 16:13:05 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://shaneraman.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/SR-logo-100x100.png Original Compositions - Shane Raman https://shaneraman.ca 32 32 Damn, These Atrocities! https://shaneraman.ca/product/damn-these-atrocities/ Mon, 18 Nov 2024 18:10:38 +0000 https://shaneraman.ca/?post_type=product&p=2080 [audio m4a="https://shaneraman.ca/wp-content/uploads/Shane%20Choral%20Works%20-%20MAIN.m4a"][/audio]

Recording Credits

  • Recorded live by Sarabande Chamber Choir and Tabitha Brasso-Ernst
  • Pianist: Shifra Day
  • Sound editing: Dale Anaka

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]]> In our current world, it feels like we are bombarded with so many devastating events that continuously impact our lives. As a queer musician, born in Canada into an immigrant family of colour, it seems like these travesties hit multiple levels, and I wonder what my response to these issues will be. Will writing a choral piece make a difference to the outcome of these issues? Is the process of making art enough of a response, or is creating art a selfish response, that doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things?

Damn, the Atrocities! – Shane Raman

Damn! Damn! Damn!
Damn, these atrocities!
That keep rolling over us, wave upon wave, never bringing us back to shore.
Our sores and our issues laid bare to the sun, as we float through polluted seas.

Damn, these atrocities!
The endless barrage of war and disaster and fires whose flames never die!
The constant political promises made, while heavy smoke hangs in the sky.
Damn! Damn! Damn!

We sing our songs of love and redemption,
Amid disinformation everywhere,
Finding solace in self care,
In the face of heinous crimes,
As we ignore our changing climate,
While they strip us of all our rights.

We unify our vowels and tune our chords,
In the face of heinous crimes,
As we ignore our changing climate,
And take away our pride.

And do our voices really matter?
Our songs of love and redemption?
Or are we on an abandoned ship waiting to drown?

And do our voices really matter?
Our songs of love and redemption?
Or will our songs of love be the only way we survive?

Damn, these atrocities!
Damn! Damn! Damn!

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]]> Love Partakes Of The Soul Itself (TTBB) https://shaneraman.ca/product/love-partakes-of-the-soul-itself-ttbb/ Mon, 03 Jun 2024 20:07:05 +0000 https://shaneraman.ca/?post_type=product&p=2017
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]]> Inspired by a passage from Victor Hugo’s novel, Les Misérables, Hugo describes love as incorruptible, indivisible, imperishable, immortal, infinite, and limitless. I wanted this piece to feel very intimate, and to express the transcendence of an intimate love to a vast and diverse community. A 5-part rondo, the expression of intimacy is in the heartbeat-like ostinato sung by the altos and tenors, surrounded by the mirrored melodies in the soprano and bass. This mirrored melody suggests the duality of love as it exists between all of us in its consistent and divergent nature. It is both an expression of personal love, and hope for a world where the characteristics of an indivisible and imperishable love will strengthen our personal relationships and lead to the growth of peace in our world.

This piece was composed for the wedding of Adam and Shane, dedicated to Adam Dickson, and premiered on our wedding day, October 1, 2016.

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]]> Love Partakes Of The Soul Itself (SSAA) https://shaneraman.ca/product/love-partakes-of-the-soul-itself-ssaa/ Mon, 03 Jun 2024 19:59:02 +0000 https://shaneraman.ca/?post_type=product&p=2014
Download perusal score

The post Love Partakes Of The Soul Itself (SSAA) first appeared on Shane Raman.

]]> Inspired by a passage from Victor Hugo’s novel, Les Misérables, Hugo describes love as incorruptible, indivisible, imperishable, immortal, infinite, and limitless. I wanted this piece to feel very intimate, and to express the transcendence of an intimate love to a vast and diverse community. A 5-part rondo, the expression of intimacy is in the heartbeat-like ostinato sung by the altos and tenors, surrounded by the mirrored melodies in the soprano and bass. This mirrored melody suggests the duality of love as it exists between all of us in its consistent and divergent nature. It is both an expression of personal love, and hope for a world where the characteristics of an indivisible and imperishable love will strengthen our personal relationships and lead to the growth of peace in our world.

This piece was composed for the wedding of Adam and Shane, dedicated to Adam Dickson, and premiered on our wedding day, October 1, 2016.

The post Love Partakes Of The Soul Itself (SSAA) first appeared on Shane Raman.

]]> Love Partakes Of The Soul Itself https://shaneraman.ca/product/love-partakes-of-the-soul-itself/ Tue, 16 Aug 2022 18:24:08 +0000 http://office.design2web.ca/jessica/shane-raman/?post_type=product&p=847

Download perusal score

The post Love Partakes Of The Soul Itself first appeared on Shane Raman.

]]> Inspired by a passage from Victor Hugo’s novel, Les Misérables, Hugo describes love as incorruptible, indivisible, imperishable, immortal, infinite, and limitless. I wanted this piece to feel very intimate, and to express the transcendence of an intimate love to a vast and diverse community. A 5-part rondo, the expression of intimacy is in the heartbeat-like ostinato sung by the altos and tenors, surrounded by the mirrored melodies in the soprano and bass. This mirrored melody suggests the duality of love as it exists between all of us in its consistent and divergent nature. It is both an expression of personal love, and hope for a world where the characteristics of an indivisible and imperishable love will strengthen our personal relationships and lead to the growth of peace in our world.

This piece was composed for the wedding of Adam and Shane, dedicated to Adam Dickson, and premiered on our wedding day, October 1, 2016.

The post Love Partakes Of The Soul Itself first appeared on Shane Raman.

]]> Kyrie Eleison https://shaneraman.ca/product/kyrie-eleison/ Mon, 15 Aug 2022 20:47:06 +0000 http://office.design2web.ca/jessica/shane-raman/?post_type=product&p=786

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]]> This a cappella setting of the first sung prayer of the Mass ordinary is antiphonal, with a single melodic phrase eliciting a response of complex chords. The musical language includes more jazz-like chords and chord progressions. Premiered by Cor Flammae, this Kyrie is a climactic cry for mercy mirrored in the surprising harmonies and chord progressions.

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]]> Face The World https://shaneraman.ca/product/face-the-world/ Mon, 15 Aug 2022 20:42:55 +0000 http://office.design2web.ca/jessica/shane-raman/?post_type=product&p=783

MIDI Recording:
[audio mp3="https://shaneraman.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Face-the-world-midi_75.mp3"][/audio]

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]]> How does one respond to the increasing amount of stress in our world? How does one respond to the global issues that are constantly at our doorstep? This piece explores my own personal feelings about the traumas of our world and the only way I know how to respond to it: Create Art! This a cappella piece is inspired by R&B and Hip Hop of the 1990s and has a more contemporary sound that has a big exciting ending!

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]]> Darest Thou Now, O Soul https://shaneraman.ca/product/darest-thou-now-o-soul/ Mon, 15 Aug 2022 20:34:44 +0000 http://office.design2web.ca/jessica/shane-raman/?post_type=product&p=780

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]]> This a cappella setting of Walt Whitman’s beautiful poem employs a consistent ostinato with traveling bass harmonies, all supporting an ornamented melody. Abrupt changes in texture mirror Whitman’s poem and create an exciting invitation to walk out towards the unknown.

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]]> Where Is My Voice? https://shaneraman.ca/product/where-is-my-voice/ Mon, 15 Aug 2022 20:31:09 +0000 http://office.design2web.ca/jessica/shane-raman/?post_type=product&p=777

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]]> This is the first step in a process of artistic reflection that deals with the voices of ancestors, whose stories are mostly left out of history. Grappling with how I represent them and myself in the art that I create, the way I live my life and the way I use my voice is a focus of this text.

The text challenges me in many ways, and that tension is reflected in the music. Creating atmospheric sonorities is a priority. Each section should be markedly different than the other in feeling and intention. Vocal unity is important, but unity of intention is the goal.

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