Classical music’s engagement with all things HOLY is nothing new. A quick look at the music of composers like Bach, for example, and even those who came before can easily affirm this idea. Well just as our ideas around church have evolved over the centuries, so have many of the compositions that are written in honor of these gatherings. Good day to you – I’m Loki Karuna, and on this edition of Noteworthy it’s a quick trip into a revival service, by way of the music of composer Libby Larsen.
Born in Delaware back in 1950, Libby Larsen is a composer whose output largely focuses on different aspects of American culture and imagery, including this work that puts the saxophone behind the proverbial pulpit. When asked about it, she said, “To me, revival sermons are stunning musical masterpieces of rhythm, tempo, and extraordinary tension and release.” So, with the sax acting as the preacher and the accompanying piano, as the congregation, she blessed the world with a tune that she called Holy Roller.
With over 500 other pieces of music to her credit, this Grammy-winning composer’s influence has reached the worlds of concert band, orchestra, chamber music, opera, and even composer advocacy, as the co-founder of the American Composers Forum in 1973. She’s preached the importance of new music for many decades here in the US, making her one of the most Noteworthy composers of our time.
Noteworthy is a production of WDAV, classical public radio.
Pictured: Libby Larsen by Ann Marsden/libbylarsen.com