A Most Sacred Oath

Program Note:

In the fall of 2020, my colleagues Robert Natter, Russell McCutcheon, and César Leal approached me with a request to write a piece for a combination of the large ensembles at the Sunderman Conservatory of Music at Gettysburg College. Due to the unique challenges of creating music while social distancing, ensembles could rehearse only in small groups, and some student performers were studying remotely.

We discussed the message we were hoping the piece could convey: while acknowledging the immense tragedy that was unfolding in the US and around the world, along with the hardships we and our students were experiencing, we look for hope and strength in order to move forward. The piece should speak to the humanity in each of us while reflecting the complex point in time we find ourselves.

My search for texts took me to the Bible, through Boccaccio and Petrarch, and to modern writers, such as Camus. However, it was President Barack Obama’s first inaugural address that resonated with me, and that I knew would speak to our community. It is an honest speech, a brave speech: a speech that addresses the problems of our society. His text holds striking parallels to this moment in history and calls on us to take action to improve our world.

I structured the piece around the original speech as delivered by President Obama, without cuts or edits. Everything I wrote surrounds his original rhythms, pitches, rhetoric, and dynamics. We hear his voice, his words, and his message amplified throughout.

January 15, 2021. Gettysburg, PA