She Lingers On

Conductor Notes:

SSA and piano

Dr. Zanaida Stewart Robles is an award-winning Black American female composer, vocalist, and
teacher. She is a fierce advocate for diversity and inclusion in music education and performance.
Authentic interpersonal connection and relationship-building are core principles of her teaching
and performance methods. She Lingers On deals with the subject of depression.

A beautiful piece with moderate vocal ranges and a shimmering texture created by the piano, against which the vocal parts float. One challenge pervades the learning process: to perform the constant syncopations which overlap from voice to voice with accuracy and no stress, always listening to the anchor of the piano part.

Composer / Arranger Notes:

A choral expression of the sadness and loneliness one might feel when depressed. It’s like being submerged underwater with waves of despair crashing over you, keeping you down. You can’t breathe, but you can’t give up. It’s like coming completely apart while trying to hold it together.

Text:

She walks in pools of sadness.
Her face is cool in moonlight.
No-one can cover it.
She walks in pools and moonlight.
She lingers on.

Text Source

Zanaida Robles