Thanksgiving as a Spiritual Practice… The Clergy of Sudbury welcomes all area churches to this Interfaith Thanksgiving Celebration. November 23, 10:00 am – Music Sunday – Hear the Poetry of Frost Set to Music this Sunday
This Sunday, join First Parish of Sudbury in experiencing typical New England landscapes and philosophical journeys through the poetry of American poet, Robert Frost, set to the music of Randall Thompson’s “Frostiana”. The choral piece will be performed by the First Parish of Sudbury choir and accompanist Noriko Yasuda under the direction of Debra Morris-Bennett, First Parish music director. The Music Sunday concert-service is free and begins at 10 a.m. in the First Parish of Sudbury sanctuary.
Thompson and Frost were acquainted through family connections, and when the composer was commissioned to write the composition for the town of Amherst’s two-hundredth anniversary, [info Thompson collaborated with Frost, who lived in Amherst, to select poems to be set to music. Thompson composed the work in 1959, which includes such familiar titles as “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” “The Road Not Taken,” and “Choose Something Like a Star.”
Their collaboration bore musically rich fruit that, as with Frost’s poems, has stood the test of time, said Morris-Bennett, First Parish music director. “Throughout the song cycle, Thompson provides us with beautiful, lyrical melodies and often stunning word painting,” she said. “The first song, ‘The Road Not Taken,’ begins in unison, but like the road itself, diverges into harmony. Each musical setting after that perfectly matches its poem’s intent. The final song of the cycle, ‘Choose Something Like A Star,’ is breathtaking and the harmonies are nothing less than inspiring.”
Morris-Bennett recalled a famous story from the premier performance of “Frostiana” on October 18, 1959. Frost attended, sitting in the front row, while Thompson conducted the choir, accompanied by piano. “At the conclusion of ‘Choose Something Like a Star,” said Morris-Bennett, “Robert Frost reportedly jumped up and shouted, ‘Sing that again!’”]
4:00 pm – Sudbury Interfaith Thanksgiving Celebration
We’re Gonna Sit at the Welcome Table!
