David Sasso

Build Yourself an Ark

Rather than a supernatural tale of divine punishment, I read the story of the Flood as a narrative about how humans deal with calamity. It is not simply about whether Noah or his generation were evil or righteous; rather, it is a window into the complexities of dealing with crisis and loss. “Build Yourself an Ark” asks the question, what needs to be preserved in the face of our modern catastrophes? What is at danger of being lost if not safeguarded? How can “Ark” be conceived of as “Archive?” The lyrics of this simple loping folk-country waltz provide “instructions for a modern-day ark.” In a nod to overlooked biblical characters, God as narrator addresses not Noah but his wife. The piece reflects on the very real and painful need to stay inside our figurative "arks" over the past year — “You have to stay inside till it’s safe to come out / Can’t really tell you how long that will be.” The listener is urged not to take stories like the Flood too literally — "You think this is to punish you / That’s how you wrote the tale” — and encouraged to “Have faith in the truth / That’s faith in me.” Today, truth is challenged through science denial and through both reactionary and radical misinformation campaigns.

This piece will appear on the upcoming second album of my duo project, Kat Wallace and David Sasso (www.wallaceandsasso.com). It was recorded and mixed by Dan Cardinal at Dimension Sounds Studios in Boston, in a COVID-safe session. Kat and I were joined by Mike Robinson on pedal steel guitar, Brittany Karlson on bass, and Ariel Bernstein on drums.

Flight of the Raven

This piece for English Horn and four voices is based on a poem by Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso. The Raven is often overlooked in the Flood story, with the Dove cast as the hero. Low-range voices and the plaintive quality of the English Horn are evocative of the Raven. The piece is structured around a four-chord progression that spells the word F-A-C-E. The melody is often accompanied by lower voices singing the Hebrew word tevah, meaning “ark,” an allusion to the biblical ark traveling on waters covering the “face” of the earth. The melody embellishes a two-note descending motif, E-D. “Ed” is the Hebrew word for “witness,” thus casting the Raven as the first witness to the post-diluvian world. The English Horn intones melodies from synagogue tropes used for chanting the Noah story from the Torah. These melodies morph into those used for chanting the biblical Prophets (the Raven is later cast in the Bible as an inspiration to prophets). This piece was recorded remotely by Anna Lampidis on English Horn; singers Moira Smiley, Karla Mundy, Robert Eisentrout, and myself, and mixed by Dan Cardinal at Dimension Sound Studios in Boston. Click here for the lyrics to Flight of the Raven.