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favorite texts was Friedrich von Matthisson’s Opferlied, which beethoven
set four times during his life. this version, written in 1824, is the last of
the settings. the text involves a young man offering sacrifice to zeus and
asking for beauty and goodness now and for his aging years. scholars have
questioned beethoven’s obsession with this text, and “it seems always to
have presented itself to him as a prayer.” beethoven elaborates on the
lovely, lyrical melody in the second verse with swift dynamic changes in
the accompaniment.
it was not until sir Edward Elgar reached his forties that he achieved
great fame as a musician in England. He was knighted in 1904 and received
other such honors during the next three decades. Lux Aeterna, arranged
by John cameron, is derived from one of Elgar’s most celebrated works,
Nimrod from his Enigma Variations. the text is from the communion
portion of the Requiem Mass praying for eternal light to shine on the
deceased and that they may find eternal rest in the Lord. cameron’s eightpart
setting captures the rich orchestration of Elgar’s original composition.
Songs of Hope
At the heart of waiting is hope. whether it is a paycheck, promotion,
victory, adventure, or rest, hope is a great motivator. in terms of waiting
on the Lord, hope refers to a journey beyond our three score years and ten
and a coming world that agrees with our sense of what should be.
williametta spencer’s At the Round Earth’s Imagined Corners won
the 1968 composition competition of the southern california Vocal
Association. A setting of John Donne’s Holy Sonnet VII, the text refers
to the last trumpet of Revelation and the resurrection of souls. However,
Donne realized that god should let those souls rest until he works out his
own sinful situation. thus, he prays for delaying god’s Judgement Day
in hope that his soul by then might be spared. spencer paints these shifts
of thought through alternating meters and abrupt dynamic changes that
capture both the angelic call-to-arms and Donne’s humble supplication.
one of Eleanor Daley’s most well-known works is her Requiem from
which In Remembrance is drawn. the anonymous poem Do Not Stand
at My Grave and Weep describes the continuation of life into all things.
it provides hope that death claims no finality but is only a transfiguration
from one state to the next. Daley captures this state through the harmonic
language—primarily modulating between major sonorities.
the program closes with Josephine Poelinitz’s arrangement of City
Called Heaven. Here, Poelinitz salutes the American gospel heritage evident
in the vocal spacing and piano accompaniment. while the soloist laments
about life’s troubles, the chorus and piano accompany with short, sighing
pulses. these aspects in the context of the F minor sonority create a weary
hopelessness overcome only by the hope to “make heaven my home.”
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