Song of Becoming (Perusal Score)

for SSAATTBB choir a cappella

by Michael Kaulkin

“Song of Becoming” (2025) traces an arc through the four classical elements—Air, Earth, Fire, and Water—as symbols of transformation.

Mostly sung in English, the score weaves in short phrases of original Persian as mantra-like refrains. Air opens in longing and awakening; Earth turns toward humility and groundedness; Fire burns with passion and surrender; Water dissolves, releases, and returns—circling back to the breath of dawn.

Texts after classical Persian poets (Rūmī, Hafez, Omar Khayyām), translated/adapted from the Persian by the composer.

“Song of Becoming” will receive its premiere in December 2026 in two Tucson-area performances by the newly founded Southern Arizona Symphony Chorus, led by Robin Lopez-Hanshaw.

📖 Download the Perusal Score

A free perusal score is available now. Performance copies/licenses are temporarily unavailable pending the December 2026 world premiere.

Interested in the piece? Please contact [email protected] for programming inquiries and post-premiere availability.

SKU: SWM-023 Categories: Choral Music, Mixed Voices Instrumentation: Choral

Difficulty:	Advanced
Duration:	5-10 Minutes
Descriptive Tags:	Dream, Ethereal, Four Elements, Metaphysical, Persian, Transformation, Waking
Instrumentation:	A Cappella
Sacred or Secular:	Secular
Language:	English, Persian
Voicing:	SSAATTBB

$0.00

This title is available for immediate download.

Explore More Music…

	Title	Voicing	Duration	Language	Composer
	A Prayer of St. Anselm for SATB choir with divisi POA-015	SATB	3'30"	English	O'Shea, Patrick	Info/Listen/Buy »
Anselm of Canterbury (c. 1033 – 21 April 1109), a benedictine abbot and philosopher and theologian, left significant writings, some of great complexity. Others, like this simple prayer, convey a deep longing for a closeness to God. This setting was composed for joint performance by the Caritas Chamber Choir (Canterbury, UK) and the Saint Mary’s […]
	Communion Service in D for SATB chorus & organ/piano ROC-007	SATB	6'45"	English	Oganovic, Robert	Info/Listen/Buy »
This setting of the Anglican communion/mass service – Gloria, Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei – is simple and tuneful. The writing is in the tradition of the great English composers of the 20th century. The Gloria is available as a separate anthem through Swirly. It can be performed as a general-purpose anthem or during the […]
	How Can I Keep from Singing SSA choir with piano SPN-009	SSA	3'30"	English	Paxton, Steven	Info/Listen/Buy »
The text for How Can I Keep from Singing was written by members of the Derventio Choir of Allestree, Derbyshire, England, and Steven Paxton’s setting was composed for the competition celebrating that choir’s 30th anniversary. Moderate tempo a cappella sections alternate with fast, rhythmically driving sections mixing 6/8 and 5/8 meters. The piano accompaniment is […]
	Majestic Ride — a Choral Sequence for Holy Week for mixed choir and organ GTT-015	SATB ⋅ Unison	12'30"	English	Thornett, Gordon	Info/Listen/Buy »
Majestic Ride is a choral sequence for the beginning of Holy Week. It consists of three new hymn settings, linked by optional solo/choral passages and narration drawn from the Bible, centred mainly on the events of Palm Sunday. The three hymns are ‘All glory, laud and honour’, ‘My song is love unknown’ and ‘Ride […]
	Nocturne for SATB chorus and piano EHE-008	SATB	5'	English	Hope, Emily	Info/Listen/Buy »
The bass section plays a featured role in this setting of the wistful and evocative poetry of Sadakichi Hartmann. A barcarolle-style accompaniment and layered, drifting harmonies express the themes of ocean waves, drifting ships, and nostalgia for things past.
	O Sacrum Convivium for mixed choir a cappella SDE-008	SATB	2'20"	English ⋅ Latin	Dole, Sanford	Info/Listen/Buy »
A lovely setting of the well-known communion prayer by Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), this version has the choir sing both the original Latin and later in English translation. This anthem is indicative of my compositional style, including rapidly shifting harmonic centers. However, it is very approachable for both the singers and listeners, employing simple four-part harmonies […]
	Shall We Gather at the River? for chorus and piano AJS-003	SATB	4'23"		Jones, Alan Riley	Info/Listen/Buy »
This lively arrangement in 7/4 meter re-fashions Lowry’s familiar hymn into a rhythmically-charged spiritual, using an unequal four beats per measure to carry the listener along on a joyous spiritual journey along the celestial river.
	Silent Night for mixed choir a cappella JBN-016	SATB	2'40"	English	Bernstein, Jeffrey	Info/Listen/Buy »

	Three Flower Songs for Women's Choir (SSA) GTT-021	SSA	6'30"	English	Thornett, Gordon	Info/Listen/Buy »
To Blossoms To Daffodils Gather ye Rosebuds All three of these poems are by the Seventeenth Century English lyric poet, Robert Herrick (1591-1674). While flowers are referred to in each of them, their main common theme is time – in particular the briefness of our lives here on this earth, and the need to use […]
	Visions SATB choir English Horn (or soprano sax), cello and percussion or piano SPN-021	SATB	6'30"	English	Paxton, Steven	Info/Listen/Buy »
Steven Paxton’s VISIONS for SATB choir is a moving setting of the poem by Wisconsin poet Charlotte A. Cote: “You catch sometimes a glimpse of forever — a lake… .” It was commissioned by Paul Rusterholz and the La Crosse Chamber Chorale in celebration of the 1998 Wisconsin Sesquicentennial. Two versions are available, one with […]