Hear Music of "20th-Century America" on May 4

Join us for our spring concert with organ, “20th-Century America,” on May 4 at 3:00 PM at the Rutgers Presbyterian Church. Tickets are $30, available online or at the door.

The works of three composers – Frank Lewin, Randall Thompson, and Amy Beach – represent the era between the two World Wars (Beach and Thompson) and the tumultuous 1960s (Lewin). They all reached far back in time, though, for words to express both strong emotions and universal concepts.

Frank Lewin’s Mass for the Dead was composed in memory of Robert F. Kennedy, assassinated in 1968 during his campaign for President. The composer chose to set the English translation of the Requiem Mass, making this work an especially direct expression to Americans of a Catholic rite that would have been familiar to RFK himself. This New York premiere performance is especially timely, coming 100 years since RFK’s birth and 60 years since he was elected senator from New York. 

Randall Thompson, well known especially amongst choral musicians, chose the words of the biblical prophet Isaiah – also in translation – for The Peaceable Kingdom, a work inspired by a painting by Edward Hicks. Thompson’s work is anchored to the title’s concept by its opening and closing movements. In the inner movements it also uses the prophet’s words of admonition to the wicked and images of the human suffering caused by them. The righteous of the first movement ultimately triumph in the last, rewarded for their steadfast faith.  

Amy Beach, whose long life was bracketed by two wars – the Civil War and World War II – was a recognized piano and composition prodigy. However, her career and fame were for many years suppressed by Victorian-era concepts of a woman’s place. Under the terms of her marriage, she was severely limited in her performing and formal studies, so she acquired her exceptional skills as a composer by studying on her own. With its advanced harmonic concepts and understanding of counterpoint, The Canticle of the Sun shows the depth of sophistication she achieved. A setting of a St. Francis of Assisi text, as translated by the British poet Matthew Arnold, the canticle’s recurring theme – in words and music – is of praise to God for the wonders surrounding mere mortals. They are the eternal wonders that sustain those who humbly accept and honor them.