Prayers

Commissioned and premiered by The Esoterics (Eric Banks, director) for a concert on the theme of eternity featuring texts by poets who committed suicide, Prayers sets three poems from an eponymous set by John Gould Fletcher.  The first setting moves in a mysterious, flowing 3/4 with Dorian harmony and a hummed eighth-note ostinato.  The second movement is starker, louder, and more homophonic, coming to a quiet and humble conclusion.  The final piece returns to the mysterious atmosphere of the first, beginning introspectively, building to a fortissimo climax, and achieving acceptance by the conclusion.  SATB divisi.  8.5"x11".  Duration approx. 7' 15".