Sursum Corda
Judith Shatin
About this work:
Sursum Corda is a versicle of thanksgiving in the Catholic liturgy. I found the name musically suggestive of the internal quiet of prayer and the external voice of joy. The music develops around these two themes, ultimately moving from the first to the second over the course of the piece. I composed Sursum Corda while participating in the composer/choreographer program at the American Dance Festival in Durhan, NC in 1981. It was created for and premiered by cellist Erika Duke of the E.A.R. Unit and choreographed by Clarice Marshall. The Washington post said: Sursum Corda is a brilliant essay in modernism, with soaring lyric lines that emerge gradually and triumphantly from a series of cool displays of technical brilliance: glissando harmonics, simultaneous bowed and pizzicato notes, gruff declamation and sparkling arpeggios.”
Year composed: 1981
Duration: 00:08:00
Ensemble type: Solo instrument, non-keyboard:Cello
Instrumentation: 1 Cello
Instrumentation notes: Solo Cello