Uploaded January 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Lewis Spratlan and Donald Nally wrote in the program notes for this massive work, "Vespers Cantata: Hesperus Is Phosphorus" for SATB chorus and chamber ensemble:
"Phosphorus is the morning star, Hesperus the evening star. Or, so the Greeks thought form any centuries until their astronomers concluded that the Babylonians were correct; the morning star is the evening star – a single celestial body, our Venus, seen at dusk and at dawn. Hesperus is Phosphorus. We come to such conclusions periodically; perception – based on our experiences and limited by the confines of our vantage point – often requires modification as our view widens. For the Greeks, at that moment, this required a doctrinal change, a revised theological landscape, for in the heavens they saw their gods; those whose positions move (our planets) were of a greater deity than the lesser, stationary gods (the stars). Hesperus is Phosphorus; their unity created a new, greater, god. We live in a world in which perception changes quickly as our knowledge base grows exponentially; it is easy to be confused or lost, drowning in an ever-growing sea of seeming paradoxes; the American physicist Richard Feynman reminds us, “A paradox is not a conflict within reality. It is a conflict between reality and your feeling of what reality ought to be.” Tonight, his words stand as a kind of ‘reality check’ in the midst of a libretto we’ve constructed from contemporary authors which takes us through an undulating journey of humanness – of our perceptions and hopes and disappointments, of unimagined possibilities and limitless imagination, of stark truths and of those ideas that lie beyond our grasp. The piece falls into two parts. Three “tales of the afterlives” from David Eagleman's Sum articulate this structure by opening it, closing Part I, and closing the entire work. These movements serve as pillars upon which the piece is built, but beyond structure they represent progression: The Afterlife I offers hope of true equality in Heaven; in The Afterlife II God is missing and arguments about his whereabouts explode into war and carnage (“We have ascended and brought the front lines with us”); The Afterlife III entertains a world in which our atoms drift off and combine with those of myriad other beings, animate and inanimate, while retaining markers of ourselves – we expand from the corporeal to the universal."
COMPOSER: Lewis Spratlan
CONDUCTOR: Donald Nally
ENSEMBLE: Network for New Music Ensemble
TRACKLIST:
————————————
PART 1:
0:00 - I. The Afterlife I
8:19 - II. Big Light
11:50 - III. Paradox
12:49 - IV. Unity
22:27 - V. The Afterlife II
————————————
PART 2:
31:59 - I. Esurientes
35:21 - II. Falling
40:28 - III. Stepping Backward
53:14 - IV. The Afterlife III
Please be aware that all of the music (and images) featured in this video belong to their respective owners, and I or this channel does not claim any right over them. I upload these solely for archiving purposes, and for the sharing and enjoyment of great music. Monetization is not enabled. If you are the rightful owner of copyrighted material used and would like the video removed from YouTube, please, instead of reporting/striking my channel, leave a comment below with your statement and I will take the video down effective immediately.
Lewis Spratlan and Donald Nally wrote in the program notes for this massive work, "Vespers Cantata: Hesperus Is Phosphorus" for SATB chorus and chamber ensemble:
"Phosphorus is the morning star, Hesperus the evening star. Or, so the Greeks thought form any centuries until their astronomers concluded that the Babylonians were correct; the morning star is the evening star – a single celestial body, our Venus, seen at dusk and at dawn. Hesperus is Phosphorus. We come to such conclusions periodically; perception – based on our experiences and limited by the confines of our vantage point – often requires modification as our view widens. For the Greeks, at that moment, this required a doctrinal change, a revised theological landscape, for in the heavens they saw their gods; those whose positions move (our planets) were of a greater deity than the lesser, stationary gods (the stars). Hesperus is Phosphorus; their unity created a new, greater, god. We live in a world in which perception changes quickly as our knowledge base grows exponentially; it is easy to be confused or lost, drowning in an ever-growing sea of seeming paradoxes; the American physicist Richard Feynman reminds us, “A paradox is not a conflict within reality. It is a conflict between reality and your feeling of what reality ought to be.” Tonight, his words stand as a kind of ‘reality check’ in the midst of a libretto we’ve constructed from contemporary authors which takes us through an undulating journey of humanness – of our perceptions and hopes and disappointments, of unimagined possibilities and limitless imagination, of stark truths and of those ideas that lie beyond our grasp. The piece falls into two parts. Three “tales of the afterlives” from David Eagleman's Sum articulate this structure by opening it, closing Part I, and closing the entire work. These movements serve as pillars upon which the piece is built, but beyond structure they represent progression: The Afterlife I offers hope of true equality in Heaven; in The Afterlife II God is missing and arguments about his whereabouts explode into war and carnage (“We have ascended and brought the front lines with us”); The Afterlife III entertains a world in which our atoms drift off and combine with those of myriad other beings, animate and inanimate, while retaining markers of ourselves – we expand from the corporeal to the universal."
COMPOSER: Lewis Spratlan
CONDUCTOR: Donald Nally
ENSEMBLE: Network for New Music Ensemble
TRACKLIST:
————————————
PART 1:
0:00 - I. The Afterlife I
8:19 - II. Big Light
11:50 - III. Paradox
12:49 - IV. Unity
22:27 - V. The Afterlife II
————————————
PART 2:
31:59 - I. Esurientes
35:21 - II. Falling
40:28 - III. Stepping Backward
53:14 - IV. The Afterlife III
Please be aware that all of the music (and images) featured in this video belong to their respective owners, and I or this channel does not claim any right over them. I upload these solely for archiving purposes, and for the sharing and enjoyment of great music. Monetization is not enabled. If you are the rightful owner of copyrighted material used and would like the video removed from YouTube, please, instead of reporting/striking my channel, leave a comment below with your statement and I will take the video down effective immediately.
