Coghlan,MichaelDonald, O'Neil Gerald2023-12-082023-12-082023-12-08https://hdl.handle.net/10315/41726Lower Parts is a choral piece written for gospel and classical choir. The piece presents the concept of deep mental anguish as told through the lens of the 63rd Psalm. The work uses the timbral differences between the two ensembles to illustrate the “in-between” - the liminal space that the author settled in as a result of life’s stressors. Nonetheless, Lower Parts emerges as a testimony of the author’s survival of the turmoil. The work serves as a plan for reconciliation between two choral practices that are usually kept very separate from one another. The separation of classical choral formats from gospel choral formats presents an assumption of superiority. Thus, Lower Parts is an attempt to heal the rift and tell the story of a composer’s plight with an identity that falls in between mental stability and emotional anguish.Author owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.MusicElectronic Thesis or Dissertation2023-12-08Gospel musicGospel choirChoral worksPsalm 63MusicFusion of gospel and classical musicReconciliationPaintingBiblical choral musicBible and musicWord paintingDouble choirEmotional descent and discoveryAcapella choral music