Program Note:
'Martyrs Tune' sets a version of Psalm 39 of the Bay Psalm Book, a Psalter popular
in 17th century New England uses its melody as cantus firmus, accompaniment, and melody
in a complex canonic process.
'Martyrs Tune' is a part of the ongoing collection 'Cancionero Anonimo', a loose grouping of fragments,
sketches, studies, and completed works that together document a life
Premiere:
Masako Yanagita, viola
Daniel Epstein, piano
5 December 1996
Deane Carriage Barn
Bennington, Vermont