Harbison: But Mary Stood

Harbison: But Mary Stood
David Hoose
© courtesy Cantata Singers
“For many years, John Harbison’s music has played a crucial role in the life of the Cantata Singers.” So notes music director David Hoose on the 19 March premiere of Harbison’s But Mary Stood (Sacred Symphony) in Boston, MA. Commissioned by the Cantata Singers in honor of David Rockefeller, Jr. — a founding member — the three movement 16-minute work is scored for soprano, six-voice chorus and strings, and features New Testament text settings of love and comfort.

Hoose continues, “From its first commission from John for his Pulitzer Prize-winning Flight into Egypt, to its recordings of his Emerson and Four Psalms, and now to this new work, But Mary Stood, the organization has been deeply affected by his vital and dignified musical language, and by its unusually responsive engagement with searching texts. At once fresh and deeply rooted, his music honors and builds upon the model of exploration and probity set by Johann Sebastian Bach and Heinrich Schütz, two composers whose own music John loves. It is a thrill to be present at the birth of another wonderful work by this marvelous musician, colleague and friend.”


But Mary Stood 16'
Soprano; SMzATBarB; str

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