No Delight in Sacrifice is a short response to my least favorite masterpiece, The Rite of Spring. I’ve taken materials from Stravinsky’s dazzling work and re-shaped them to stand against the glamorization of killing in the name of higher powers and for the joy of renewal and rebirth that spring embodies. The bassoon begins the piece with a plainchant version of Psalm 51 that was my guide in this re-composition: “For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt-offering, you would not be pleased.”
No Delight in Sacrifice was commissioned by the Vermont Symphony Orchestra in celebration of their 80th Anniversary Season, and was premiered in Burlington on 6 December 2014 on a concert that included The Rite of Spring.
No Delight in Sacrifice is part of my ongoing project, A Book of Days. You can listen to a recording of the premiere by visiting May 29th.
You can download a score of the piece here. You can purchase performance materials by clicking the link below.
And thanks for supporting this low-key way of publishing!
DETAILS
- Instrumentation: orchestra
- Ensemble Size: large ensemble
- Duration: <5 minutes
- Electronics: No Electronics
- Video: No
- Project(s): A Book of Days
- Year: 2014