Robert Beaser's Evening Prayer Given World Premiere by Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra

The Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra (BYSO), under the baton of Federico Cortese, performs the world premiere of Robert Beaser's Evening Prayer on Saturday, June 15. Mr. Beaser explains the inspiration for the music:

The little folk song "Esti Dal" (Evening Song), from Kodaly's published collection "Vegyeskarok" provides the impetus for my work Evening Prayer. I have often used folk material in my pieces, usually from Appalachia, often setting it quite strophically. Here I have chosen material from another country and used it in a rather circuitous way. The song animates the piece on two different planes: the words ask humbly for safe and gentle transit to a foreign land; a shepherding through a difficult time to find peace and transcendence in a new place. The narrative arch of the work actively mirrors this transformation and journey. The fiber and sinew of the musical language is built entirely on the simple diatonic shapes and quirky rhythms of the tune. And while the tune itself is quoted several ways throughout, it principally functions as a trope, fragmented and woven into the fabric of a wholly different musical world.

The BYSO is the first orchestra I ever played in, and through it I was introduced to the music of the likes of Penderecki, Hindemith, Stravinsky, Kodaly and Lutoslawski. With Evening Prayer I have chosen to give back to this orchestra a piece with the weight and seriousness of purpose of the experience that shaped me as an aspiring musician some 35 years ago. The music is challenging, but these are challenging times, and I can think of no better group of young people to ask to rise to the occasion.

The BYSO's performance of Evening Prayer commences at 3 PM at Harvard University's Sanders Theatre. The orchestra follows the premiere with further performances in Germany and the Czech Republic later this month.

For more information on the music of Robert Beaser, go to www.schott-music.com.

For more information on the BYSO's performance go to www.bysoweb.org.

Robert Beaser
Evening Prayer
for orchestra
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Commissioned by the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra
World Premiere: June 15, 2008; Sanders Theatre, Harvard University; Boston, MA
Federico Cortese, conductor
European Premiere: June 26, 2008; Leipzig Gewandhaus, Leipzig (Germany)
Duration: ca 15'