Magnificat, for unaccompanied choir, was written for the New York Virtuoso Singers in 2000. It is dedicated to the loving memory of my great-aunt Dorothy McMullin, Sister of Mercy (1904-1999), whose love and joy, kindness and good humor inspired all who knew her.
Two good questions this morning from Andrew Simonet. The second is one I don’t think we talk about enough: you can’t just have the greatest art from the greatest artists, without the whole cultural ecosystem that produces and nurtures them. The minor artists and the failed experiments all play essential roles too.
Something I never think about but should: maybe the music I’m working on will make its main impact indirectly, through what someone else is able to imagine after hearing it. I’ll probably never know if that happens, but I shouldn’t deny them the opportunity, just in case.
That reminds me of another way I’ve heard* this idea presented: “You can separate the wheat from the chaff, but you can’t grow the wheat without the chaff.” (And in art, we don’t have to agree on which is which.)
*Anyone know who said this first? I don’t remember how I heard this.
A comment about “winnowing” reminds me of another way I’ve heard* this idea put more succinctly: “You can separate the wheat from the chaff, but you can’t grow the wheat without the chaff.” (And in art, we don’t have to decide which is which.)
*Anyone know who said this first? I don’t remember where I heard it.