Emergency shelter intake form

In Gabriel Kahane's full orchestra oratorio Emergency shelter intake form we come across a work which seeks the “why” in why we should care. In order to do this, Kahane's piece focuses on the systemic problems that keep people unhoused even when they are seeking help or resources. Over the course of thirteen movements the listener is given a variety of common form questions often posed to those seeking help, “Have you ever been denied a lease?”, “Are you eligible for section 8 Voucher”, “Do your coworkers know that you have lost your home” are all a few titles to movements themselves. Perhaps ironically these robot-like inquiries help us access a more human, relatable vision into what it's like to seek help from a systemic force.

cover art designed by Timo Andres

Kahane importantly mediates on some root causes of homelessness. In the eleventh movement he brings up the subprime mortgage crisis of 2008. The music is comedically jolly and big band inspired, paired with the vocal solo it sounds like a playful christmas track. This is a perfect pairing to the libretto which gives the listener a brief, cheeky summary of wall street's love affair with CD loans. Together your presented with a pseudo macabre slap to the face, that the rich will always have fun getting richer even at the cost of those who are the most vulnerable. 

In the final movement “Thank you for completing this form” we get a choral performance with orchestra, which was sung by Maybelle community singers on the listed recording- a group who all face issues with homelessness. The movement is a haunting close, the music gives a dissonant representation of the disheartening under the rug treatment the unhoused receive. It buckles down on a core issue in the unhoused reality, how many who aren't in that situation don't care. Perhaps, if the piece is successful in its vision, it can be a conduit of changing minds for those who aren't as close to the issue as others.

If you’d like to find out more about this piece visit this link:

https://gabrielkahane.bandcamp.com/track/xiii-thank-you-for-completing-this-form