Scenes from the Life of a Martyr

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Scenes from the Life of a Martyr (1981), is a 16-part oratorio composed by Undine Smith Moore in memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. Moore wrote the libretto, which includes passages from the Bible, quotations and poetry excerpts.[1] It is written for a mixed choir, with solo parts for soprano, alto, tenor, bass, a spoken-word narrator and orchestra.[1] The work takes about 40 minutes to perform and has sixteen different movements.[2]

History

Smith began work on the composition in November of 1975 and spent about four years working on it.[2] Parts of Scenes were performed in 1979 by the Harry Savage Chorale and with Moore accompanying the choir by piano.[2] Orchestration was done by Donald Rauscher, and the work on Scenes was completed by 1980.[2] The score was published by Carl Fischer Publishing Company, who nominated it for a Pulitzer Prize in 1981.[2]

The official premiere of the work was complicated by scheduling difficulties, so Scenes was performed first in New Jersey in December 1981.[2] It was later performed at Carnegie Hall on January 15, 1982 and "officially" premiered by the Richmond Symphony Orchestra on April 19, 1982.[2]

Story and composition

Moore's oratorio is meant to "comment on the private life of King," starting as far back as his childhood.[2] The work is divided into four sections, each covering four different stages in King's life.[3] The work starts out with the narrator's prologue and then segues into a contemporary-sounding movement which includes African-American rhythmic motives.[2] In a similar way, the narrator "prepares" the listener for the next movements. The second section includes the first songs that Moore wrote and uses text from the Song of Solomon.[2] The third section uses text from the gospel of Luke and then follows the "most memorable movements of the entire work," I Never Felt Such Love in My Soul Before.[2] The final movement includes a lament and a climatic work, They Tell Me Martin Is Dead, which eventually ends with "frenzied screams and moans."[2] The final song is a chorale, Tell All My Father's People, based on the spiritual, "Angels Waiting at the Door."[2]

Moore had stated that she chose to write Scenes "as a way to make tangible my feelings about Dr. King."[4] She also felt that everyone could feel a sense of "kinship" with King.[4] She also stated that she did not want to strive for a "consistency of style," but instead wanted the music to reflect his life at the time.[5]

Critical response

Scenes received a good response from the public.[2] Will Crutchfield of The New York Times, felt that the score sounded like "background music for a documentary film," however, the finale was "suitably stirring."[6] Bernard Holland, also of The New York Times, felt that Scenes could be compared to Krzysztof Penderecki's St. Luke Passion.[7] John Rockwell called Scenes "conservative."[8]

See also

References

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External links