PROGRAM NOTE
A PRAYER is a short work written in honor of the seventy-fifth birthday of the late Paul Fromm, the great Chicago-based patron of 20th century music, as part of a “bouquet of compositions” especially composed for the occasion and presented in a concert commemorating the event on January 22, 1982, by the Contemporary Chamber Players of the University of Chicago, Ralph Shapey, music director.
My notes for that evening read: “I asked myself — how shall I celebrate this special day? The answer — compose a prayer. A wordless one… the horn is my voice. Bass clarinet, bassoon, and timpani form a low choir supporting, commenting, punctuating. From their midst the clarinet takes flight. In my mind, it assumes the role of the innocent village boy whose whistle, according to an old Jewish tale*, opened the gates of heaven.”
—Shulamit Ran
*By the Yiddish writer Yitzhak Leib Peretz
INFORMATION
Commissioned by Invitation of Ralph Shapey as part of a bouquet of compositions honoring Paul Fromm on his 75th birthday
Premiere: January 22, 1982
The Contemporary Chamber Players of the University of Chicago
Ralph Shapey, conductor
Mandel Hall, the University of Chicago
Duration: c. 6’
Recording
Milken Archive Volume 10: Intimate Voices,
chamber ensemble
conducted by Brad Lubman
SHEET MUSIC
Available from your favorite sheet music seller or directly from Theodore Presser (here and here).