Sisi ni moja (We Are One), Jacob Narverud | Santa Barbara Music Publishing, Inc.

Sisi ni moja (We Are One) [level: Medium]
Jacob Narverud: Bio and other works

RELEASED: January 2025

voicing: SSAB | catalog number: SBMP 1812 | price: $3.00
accompaniment: piano, djembe
Accompaniment Track: piano part - FREE Download
Instrument Part: djembe part FREE Download
Other Voicings: SA, SSAA, SAB, SA(T)B, TBB, Two-Part Mixed, Unison

This #1 BEST SELLER is now available for SSAB developing mixed choirs! A celebratory, highly rhythmic composition that is available in multiple voicings and is accessible to all ensembles. The Swahili title means “We are one” - meaning all human beings have much in common. Great fun, a profound message, and an intriguing piece. See composer notes for pronunciation. The optional djembe part is available as a PDF download at SBMP.COM

performance by: The Australian Children's Choir - Daniel Brinsmead, Conductor [© all rights reserved]

CLICK HERE: See and Hear the Complete Score or download a perusal copy: HERE

CLICK HERE: Read the Text or Poem

CLICK HERE: Choral Tracks (Practice made simple)

CLICK HERE: Jacob Narverud performance notes

The original voicing of Sisi ni moja was commissioned in 2015 for the Michigan State University Children & Youth Choirs by their director, Kyle Zeuch, to celebrate unity and community through cultures. This piece was written specifically for their world-music concert theme, “We are One.” It was requested to be similar in style to my arrangement of the Kenyan song “Jambo,” and was commissioned by the director for SA(T)B choir, piano, and djembe. The SA voicing was written two years later (2017) for the Lawrence Children’s Choir in Kansas, Carolyn Welch, Director, and a TBB voicing was requested by the publisher later that same year.

I wanted to create an uplifting, hopeful song that had a modern, popular-style vibe and dealt with the choir’s theme of unity and one-ness. Since the piece was intended to represent all people and all cultures, I sought to write a text that would reflect just that. I was teaching high school at the time, and a student in one of my choirs was from Kenya. I asked her to assist me with a Swahili phrase that I could combine with a new original text, which would translate specifically to “We are One.” Though not a common Swahili phrase, we came up with “Sisi ni moja,” pronounced “Moh-Jah” with a hard “J”. “Heja” (pronounced “hey-yah”) is a non-word with no literal meaning, and does not represent any specific culture. It is given a more instrumental treatment in the chorus, acting as a joyful, declamatory backdrop to the song’s message of unity. This “celebratory chant” mirrors the piano and djembe’s heavy rhythmic influence, energizing and driving the song forward.

When I wrote Sisi Ni Moja I specifically chose chord progressions that would be familiar to the ear of both the audience and the singers performing. These popular music chord progressions, coupled with the speech driven rhythms and repetition in the piano, allow listeners to feel an instant connection to the music and focus on the message of the text.

-Jacob Narverud (2018)

This score is available in Printed or ePrint format at checkout (More Information)

Ranges

SATB Version: performed by The Signature Chamber Chorus - Sam Kakai, conductor

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