Instrumentation: Soprano and viola
Also available for soprano and clarinet
Duration: 2:00
Premiere: 12/4/94
Veronica Salas, viola and Susan Montgomery (soprano)
Kosciusko Foundation, New York, NY
Program Note:
Sister Thou Wast Mild and Lovely is a setting of the lyrics of a Primitive Baptist hymn by Samuel Francis Smith that I composed in memory of my dear friend, violist Rosemary Glyde. I met Rosemary on my first day at the Aspen Music Festival and we became close immediately, with our friendship continuing while students at Juilliard and for the rest of her life. We collaborated on numerous occasions, resulting in a number of my pieces featuring the viola. Three of the high points were her performance of Arche for viola and orchestra, with the Houston Symphony, her premiere of Glyph (solo viola, string quartet and piano) at Merkin Hall and her performances of Doxa (viola & piano) and L’etude du Coeur (viola) on her Tully Hall debut. She was a fine composer herself, as shown in Whydah (viola) and Weji, for viola quartet. I will always miss Rosemary’s warm friendship, her adventuresome spirit and her consummate musicality. –JS
.–JS