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
	Full Fathom Five 12 performance rounds from Shakespeare to Synge BKR-008	Equal Voices ⋅ SSAA	Each round 1′30″ to 2′ (in performance)	English	Kogler, Brian	Info/Listen/Buy »	The sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Britain form a golden age of round-singing; even the nineteenth provided some fine examples. These twelve rounds, set to texts by Shakespeare, Skelton, Swift, Dryden, Johnson, Carroll and Synge, are of varying difficulty and may require rehearsal. Keeping as they do to the style of the period, they […]
The sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Britain form a golden age of round-singing; even the nineteenth provided some fine examples. These twelve rounds, set to texts by Shakespeare, Skelton, Swift, Dryden, Johnson, Carroll and Synge, are of varying difficulty and may require rehearsal. Keeping as they do to the style of the period, they […]
	Justitiae Domini Rectae SSA choir unaccompanied SPN-011	SSA	4'	English ⋅ Latin	Paxton, Steven	Info/Listen/Buy »	JUSTITIAE DOMINI RECTAE (SSA) is based on the original Gregorian chant sung as an offertory on the Third Sunday of Lent. The Latin text is based on verses from Psalm 19 (18 in the Latin Vulgate): The laws of God are just, rejoicing the heart, sweeter than honey or the honeycomb; therefore your servant will observe them. […]
JUSTITIAE DOMINI RECTAE (SSA) is based on the original Gregorian chant sung as an offertory on the Third Sunday of Lent. The Latin text is based on verses from Psalm 19 (18 in the Latin Vulgate): The laws of God are just, rejoicing the heart, sweeter than honey or the honeycomb; therefore your servant will observe them. […]
	Konikoneco (3-parts) for 3-Part Mixed choir with piano and optional percussion SPN-012	SAB	2'	Other	Paxton, Steven	Info/Listen/Buy »	KONIKONECO (3-Part Mixed chorus) is a traditional call-and-response song of the Teso people, who live in eastern Uganda and in western Kenya. The lyrics, from the Ateso language combined with borrowings from other languages and dialects, roughly translates as “Let us celebrate our schools, our learning, and our empowerment.” The piano accompaniment suggests the arpeggios […]
KONIKONECO (3-Part Mixed chorus) is a traditional call-and-response song of the Teso people, who live in eastern Uganda and in western Kenya. The lyrics, from the Ateso language combined with borrowings from other languages and dialects, roughly translates as “Let us celebrate our schools, our learning, and our empowerment.” The piano accompaniment suggests the arpeggios […]
	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 […]
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 […]
	Most This Amazing for SATB chorus, two pianos and percussion SWM-003	SATB	12'	English	Kaulkin, Michael	Info/Listen/Buy »	Most This Amazing is a colorful, pulse-driven setting of E. E. Cummings’ well-known poem of gratitude and wonder. Two pianos and percussion add rhythmic energy, sparkle, and a magical sheen, with the choir carrying the text in broad, singable phrases. 📖 Download the Perusal Score Choose the “free perusal score” option in the shopping cart. […]
Most This Amazing is a colorful, pulse-driven setting of E. E. Cummings’ well-known poem of gratitude and wonder. Two pianos and percussion add rhythmic energy, sparkle, and a magical sheen, with the choir carrying the text in broad, singable phrases. 📖 Download the Perusal Score Choose the “free perusal score” option in the shopping cart. […]
	Pablo Neruda In Love for mixed choir and piano JBN-017	SATB	7'25"	English	Bernstein, Jeffrey	Info/Listen/Buy »

	Planet Earth Lullaby for SATB choir w/piano accompaniment RCL-031	SATB	5'	English	Campbell, Rich	Info/Listen/Buy »	A request by Artistic Director Susan Glass for a new choral work addressing climate change resulted in the creation of “Planet Earth Lullaby.” Composer Rich Campbell contemplated and determined the piece would be both an alarm for help and a call to action. For over a century the internationally recognized distress signal has been the […]
A request by Artistic Director Susan Glass for a new choral work addressing climate change resulted in the creation of “Planet Earth Lullaby.” Composer Rich Campbell contemplated and determined the piece would be both an alarm for help and a call to action. For over a century the internationally recognized distress signal has been the […]
	Star of Wonder for choir (SATB with divisions) + organ, piano or orchestra GTT-030	SATB	5' 20"	English	Thornett, Gordon	Info/Listen/Buy »	Forget the traditional setting of “We thee kings of Orient are”! This is a much more reflective version, for choir and orchestra, given its first performance by the Nidarosdomens Guttekor in the splendid setting of Trondheim Cathedral in December 2017. They also performed the piece on their pre-Christmas tour, using just organ for accompaniment. The […]
Forget the traditional setting of “We thee kings of Orient are”! This is a much more reflective version, for choir and orchestra, given its first performance by the Nidarosdomens Guttekor in the splendid setting of Trondheim Cathedral in December 2017. They also performed the piece on their pre-Christmas tour, using just organ for accompaniment. The […]
	Thou God for Mixed Chorus, Organ, Church Choir DRY-027	SATB	4'	English	Ramsey, Dale	Info/Listen/Buy »	“Thou God” is the title of a text by Dag Hammarskjöld, Secretary-general of the United Nations from 1953 to 1961. A deeply moving and personal faith statement, it is set here as an anthem for mixed choir and organ. Hammarskjöld’s book Markings, from which this text comes, is an enduring spiritual classic still widely read […]
“Thou God” is the title of a text by Dag Hammarskjöld, Secretary-general of the United Nations from 1953 to 1961. A deeply moving and personal faith statement, it is set here as an anthem for mixed choir and organ. Hammarskjöld’s book Markings, from which this text comes, is an enduring spiritual classic still widely read […]
	Tumbalalayka for mixed chorus a cappella SWM-013	SATB	2'24"	Yiddish	Kaulkin, Michael	Info/Listen/Buy »	“An exceptionally ingenious arrangement” — Der Küsnachter, Switzerland Tumbalalayka is a rhythmic, harmonically rich setting of the beloved Yiddish folksong. The voices imitate the strumming of the balalaika in this classic riddle-courtship song—by turns playful and tender. Performed regularly by choirs around the world. It is included on French vocal quartet Quatour Aesthesis’ 2022 CD O […]
“An exceptionally ingenious arrangement” — Der Küsnachter, Switzerland Tumbalalayka is a rhythmic, harmonically rich setting of the beloved Yiddish folksong. The voices imitate the strumming of the balalaika in this classic riddle-courtship song—by turns playful and tender. Performed regularly by choirs around the world. It is included on French vocal quartet Quatour Aesthesis’ 2022 CD O […]