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Kathryn Leemhuis and Samuel Martin: Before She Became Fire
Publication: textura
December 1, 2023
[...] Concluding Before She Became Fire memorably is Dunphy's Four Poems of Nikita Gill, its focus the experience of young women of today. Working with texts by the British-Indian Sikh author, the work explores the challenges women face in the “Me Too” era as well as gains that have been made. One of the more striking things about the cycle is that the first three parts are delivered by a single voice while the final one is performed by a trio of a cappella voices. Live, it's performed by three singers; on the album, Leemhuis simulates the effect using multi-tracking. Pronoun usage is important also, with the cryptic first song, “Sorcery,” using first-person singular (“I”) to affirm self-acceptance, the empowering second, “From the Ashes She Became, set in third-person singular (“she”), the pretty, rather Sondheim-esque third, “You Have Become a Forest,” in second-person singular (“you”), and the fourth, the protest anthem “Me Too” deploying plural voice (“we”) to express solidarity and collective strength (“This is our riot act …”). [...]