BOOK OF HOURS (2016)
FOR Vocal Ensemble and Eleven Instruments
(fl, cl., hrn., tbn., perc., pno., SSAATTBB, strings)
23 minutes
Program Notes
Book of Hours takes its inspiration from an artist book stitched on tissue paper by Laura Grey. Loosely following the structure of a medieval book of hours, the project reimagines the ancient prayerbook as a large, hand-stitched, table-sized book. Several texts from various sources are collaged together, creating a narrative that references the structure of the original, while offering a contemporary perspective on the practice of daily devotion.
Often when looking inward we encounter a volatile and turbulent space: memories, worries, cares, visions, and dreams clash with wide-ranging emotions of sometimes great intensity. Book of Hours enters this space. Wistful childhood memories lead to a joyful outburst of song in the first movement, Now now now now. A quiet meditation on time in the second movement, A thin layer of time, is rudely interrupted by the angry outburst of Why had we even bothered? followed by a short instrumental interlude of equally violent intensity. In Alone on a roof a sense of deep loneliness dissolves into the final movement, Timor Mortis. A layering of text from Shakespeare’s Macbeth and a fragment from the Catholic Office of the Dead, Timor Mortis concludes the work with a quiet prayer, gently accepting fear in the face of an uncertain future and unpredictable fate.
This piece was commissioned by the Present Music Commission Club for its landmark 35th season and premiered November 20, 2016 by Present Music at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Milwaukee, WI
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Performances
November 18, 2018 Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Milwaukee, WI. Present Music.
November 20, 2016 St. John’s Cathedral, Milwaukee, WI. Present Music.