Work of the Week - Lee Hoiby: Last Letter Home

On 10 October, at 6.30 pm, the National Gallery, London will hold the UK premiere of Lee Hoiby’s Last Letter Home, performed by baritone Philip Tebb and accompanied by Kathron Sturrock. Lee Hoiby's Last Letter Home is the setting to music of a letter by US Army tank crewman, Jesse Givens, who had been in Iraq for just a month when, on May 1st, 2003, his tank crashed and fell into a canal off the Euphrates River. The rest of the crew escaped through a hatch, but Givens perished trapped inside the tank. Hoiby's intention was to set Givens' words as clearly as possible, writing it in three-part form for one tenor and two baritone parts. Last Letter Home is also available in versions for solo baritone and piano as well as string quartet and orchestra.

 Lee Hoiby - Profile
 Information on the National Gallery Website