Canadian composer Ruth Watson Henderson discusses her work, From Darkness to Light.
The Abendmusik Chorus and Orchestra collaborate with the Doane College Choir and soloists to bring Mozart’s Requiem. Nebraska audiences will also hear, for the first time, Canadian composer Ruth Watson Henderson's hopeful and lyrical From Darkness to Light. Jeremy Bankson and Tom Trenney guide the gathered musicians in an enlightening afternoon.
Sunday, April 3, 2011, 4PM
First-Plymouth Congregational Church
2000 D St, Lincoln, NE, 68502
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From Darkness to Light is a cantata commissioned by the American Guild of Organists for its 2002 National Convention in Philadelphia. Its premiere performance featured New York's renowned choir, The Voices of Ascension, under the direction of Dennis Keene.
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What attracted you to the text, both the poetry and the biblical passages?
The text is conveyed by a baritone soloist, a mezzo-soprano soloist and a choir. What does each "voice" represent?
If you were to speak to the audience, singers and players before the work was offered, what would you share?
I was drawn to the poem by Wilfred Watson (no relation, but I wish I could have met him before he died) and felt that I wanted to combine it with scripture verses that speak of darkness and light.
The text is conveyed by a baritone soloist, a mezzo-soprano soloist and a choir. What does each "voice" represent?
I used a solo [baritone] voice for [the biblical] verses to set them apart from the poem's verses sung by the choir and make them more personal. Everyone is travelling together through darkness on life's journey in which, in part 1, they do not recognize the voice of God in the singing light.
The mezzo's solo is the highlight of the work when she recognizes the rose of resurrection. Everyone then hears the darkness singing.
If you were to speak to the audience, singers and players before the work was offered, what would you share?
One thing that occurred the week after I completed this piece that had a profound impact on me was the 9/11 tragedy. If I had been asked to write a work in response to it, this is what I would have written, and yet I had already completed it! [I would like the audience and performers] to sustain hope and look for the Light when there are so many tragic things happening in the world these days.
There have been many fine performances of this work around North America. I can't single one out, but I appreciate the way singers get involved in the message they are projecting. I wish you and your choir the very best for your performance.
God bless you all.
Ruth
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Ruth Watson Henderson has an international reputation as one of Canada’s leading composers and as an admired pianist and organist.
Her works are acclaimed, performed and recorded worldwide. The Elmer Iseler Singers released a CD, Sing All Ye Joyful, devoted to her choral compositions. William Littler, writing in the Toronto Star, refers to this recording as "long overdue", and states that Ruth’s "years as an accompanist for Elmer Iseler contributed to an understanding of the expressive possibilities of choral sound that has given birth to some of the most singable choral music in the Canadian literature." Other favourable reviews of her work include the following comments about her Cantata From Darkness to Light:
"Impressionistic harmonies, a constant sense of forward motion, and deft handling of the orchestral voices all combined to make this a most appealing work, worthy of repeated hearings." – Larry Palmers, The Diapason
"… a downright ravishing work!" – Timothy Howard, The American Organist
Recognized for her lifetime of service to music, Ruth has been paid many tributes by the music community. She was honored by the conferring of an honorary Fellowship by the Royal Canadian College of Organists (FRCCO); she received the National Choral Award for Outstanding Choral Composition for Voices of Earth, and the Distinguished Service Award by the Ontario Choral Federation.
Ruth Watson Henderson continues to serve as the Music Director at Kingsway-Lambton United Church in Toronto.
