Chichester Psalms
Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor
MIT professor and inventor of new technology for music Tod Machover has been called “America’s most wired composer.” In this crowd-sourced Philadelphia Orchestra commission, he creates a piece infused with sounds and voices contributed by today’s Philadelphians. Inspired by the hundreds of thousands who sang in unison on the Parkway during the visit of Pope Francis in 2015, and reflecting the Orchestra’s deep relationship with, and commitment to, its city and community, this work will represent Philadelphia Voices in the truest sense. The Chichester Psalms, setting psalms in their original Hebrew, is one of Bernstein’s most overtly religious works and an exquisite choral plea for peace. We conclude with Musorgsky’s Pictures from an Exhibition in Ravel’s orchestration, a glorious showcase of the Philadelphia Sound.
