Rorem, N :: Book of Hours

Book of Hours, scored for flute and harp, was written in Yarro and Nantucket in the first half of 1975, and was first performed in New York s Alice Tully Hall in February 1976, by Ingrid Dingfelder and Marine Geliot. For the titles of the movements, Rorem used the canonical times of the day for Christian prayer. With this in mind, the character of each of the movements becomes clearer. To open and close the day are similar moods of contemplation, before and after the sun rises and sets, and in between come the various hours set aside for devotion.

'This is the basic framework of the music, which begins with an imaginative personification of the music, almost as if awakening from sleep. Indeed, throughout this work, Rorem s considerable compositional resource unites the instruments as aspects of the same character, never in opposition, but always contemplating one another, the hear and mind joined in the same body. The opening Matins, for example, a mere ten bars long, is a palindrome, as if a memory of Gregorian chant. Every note in this piece is not a furtherance of color, but an organic part of the creation. With this in mind, it is easier to see how Rorem uses the harp chords in Lauds, growing in intensity as the run rises, but harmonically remaining the same. Thus it is that this suite maintains its inherent character, at the same time as revealing new aspects of the material throughout.'

- The Fibonacci Sequence, Ned Rorem: The End of Summer, Book of Hours, Bright Music

Contents

• Matins (Nocturne) — Rorem, N
• Lauds (Sunrise) — Rorem, N
• Prime (6 A.M.) — Rorem, N
• Terce (Mid-morning) — Rorem, N
• Sext (Noon) — Rorem, N
• None (Mid-afternoon) — Rorem, N
• Vespers (Evensong) — Rorem, N
• Compline (Nightfall) — Rorem, N