Voicings for Tape/Soprano/Piano

Voicings for Tape/Soprano/Piano is a collection of performances by composer, educator, and pianist Sorrel Doris Hays that reflect her Southern roots and feminist themes. The first of four tracks, “Southern Voices for Tape” consists of random spoken conversations interwoven with music from a 1979 Sacred Heart concert. “Blues Fragments” is an excerpt from “Southern Voices for Orchestra” featuring soprano Daisy Newman. “Celebration of NO” is from a larger work titled “Beyond Violence” and contains recordings of women saying “no” in different languages. Finally, in “Exploitation” Hays responds to women musicians who in her view exploit other women by expecting them to “play for free.” Hays and her music are featured in the George Stoney documentary Southern Voices: A Composer’s Exploration.