To the Hands

The piece is written for SATB Choir with accompaniment by a string quintet of 2 violins, viola, cello, and double bass. As Membra Jesu Nostri is based on different body parts, Ad manus—"To the hands" in English—is specifically about Jesus' crucified hands.^[2] While other movements quote and respond to other texts, movement 5 specifically discusses refugee crises.^[3] The piece contains uses of string harmonics and extended technique, as well as polyrhythms. Its choral writing has also been compared to Gregorian chant, and portions of the piece have been paraphrased from Membra Jesu Nostri.^[4]

The work is in six movements.

The movement contains no actual text and uses the syllables "ah, oh, oo, nn, mm," and "na'n'n..." The piece ends with an attacca into movement 2.

Contains text of Ad manus and from Membra Jesu Nostri which have been arranged by the composer, in addition to the line in medio manuum nostrarum, which itself is a quotation of Zechariah 13:6.

Contains quotations of "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus and additional text as a response by the composer. The movement is without string accompaniment.

Contains text from the composer describing separate scenes, and the movement's final lines are taken from Dieterich Buxtehude's Ad latus.

This movement uses the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre's data from 2015 on displaced persons by country and in ascending order, with the smallest number being 224 and largest at 7.6 million from Syria.^[5] The choir shouts figures of displacement while accompanied by arpeggiated strings with the exception of the contrabass, which is absent in this movement.

The text reprises portions of Zechariah 13:6 from movement 2.