And who is my neighbor?

As we prepare this first concert, we will happily spend more than a little time polishing Benjamin Britten's CANTATA MISERICORDIUM, a small masterwork written in 1963.

Britten's librettist, Patrick Wilkinson, expanded and dramatized the great parable, from Luke 10, of the Good Samaritan. Britten, great opera composer that he was, seized the opportunities presented from this text, and created a gorgeous, vivid, ultimately uplifting work.

Like many sophisticated compositions, the subtleties of expression can be elusive on first hearing, and multiple exposures inevitably deepen appreciation. Since we want you to savor every artistic detail (and there are so many in this 20-minute work!), I'll add a link to a terrific YouTube performance of CANTATA MISERICORDIUM by The Britten Singers directed by Richard Hickox.

And since text here is everything, here's a link to program notes, text and translation.