Courage Barda - Aphasiosphere (2021)

Tenor (Courage Barda) & Pianist (Nathan Perry)

The composition “Aphasiosphere” is named for aphasia, the non-verbalism that often arises from acute neurological events such as the one I had in September 2020. I composed “Aphasiosphere” to express my emotions concerning the effects of my neurological event. To do so, I pulled text from Helen Keller’s essay Optimism, as well as original text. The text is as follows:

“Beauty and rhythm are deeper than sense
They are like love and faith
They spring out of a spiritual process
Nature sings her most explicit songs to those who love her
The keenness of our vision depends not on how much we can see
But on how much we can feel

I used to have so much control - what rubbish!
To see my life fall apart has broken my faith
I was strong; I was fast: I would run for miles in my neighborhood.

Now, I’m jealous of the boys who can run but choose still not to run
I was ungrateful just like they are, ignorant of my privilege

I would kill to run again my hair bouncing and feeling the
Cushioned air below me I’d pretend to fly to fly
God I would kill kill I would I would would kill I would
Kill go have my life back my life back my kill to live
My life once again how can I will I get my
Back injured my back it bleeds my back and nerves

GOD, I WOULD KILL TO FEEL NORMAL AGAIN!”

Thank you for watching! :)