Bits torn from words examines the mental health condition of generalized anxiety disorder – how the dread of even the most inconsequential circumstances feels gargantuanly out of proportion to its relative impact. In expanded song form, voices traverse through wavering pitches, surrendered exclamations, and quivering breaths, all conveying the vivid manifestations of anxiety in the body and psyche. The title comes from the opening pages of Dictee (1982) by the pioneering Korean American conceptual artist Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (1951-82). Through intricate diagrams and vivid prose, Cha illustrates the visceral phenomenology of vocalization, and the yearning to say and be heard.

The final movement poses the question: “If __________ did happen, how bad would it be?” Taken from a worksheet from my therapist on disputing irrational anxieties, the question serves as a space for introspection and mindfulness, to be more compassionate with ourselves, to comfort and to nourish. If it doesn’t go perfectly, if it doesn’t pan out, and so on and so forth… how bad would it be?