Category: Vocal / Opera Excerpt
Instrumentation: three sopranos, a cappella
Duration: approximately 1+ minute
Text / Source: libretto by Alize Rozsnyai, after an idea by Annie Gill with input from Caitlin Vincent

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More from a Pregnant Pause:
The Greatest Gift
A Tiny Seed

The Serenity Prayer is a brief a cappella excerpt from A Pregnant Pause, written for three sopranos. Set apart from the opera’s piano-accompanied arias, this ensemble moment offers a concentrated vocal reflection within Serena’s unfolding inner debate.

In The Serenity Prayer, Garth Baxter uses the clarity of unaccompanied voices to create a moment of stillness and reflection. The excerpt brings Serena, the Pro Angel, and the Con Angel into a shared vocal space, allowing the opera’s emotional conflict to pause briefly in search of calm, acceptance, and perspective.

Its compact form and transparent texture make the piece especially effective as a standalone excerpt. The a cappella scoring highlights balance, blend, intonation, and textual clarity, while preserving the intimate dramatic atmosphere of the chamber opera.

This excerpt requires three sopranos with strong ensemble awareness, clean intonation, and sensitive blend. Because the texture is unaccompanied, performers should give particular attention to pacing, breath, tuning, and the expressive shape of the text.