On Friendship

for double choir

On Friendship is a setting of words by Khalil Gibran from his 1923 prose poem collection The Prophet. This work for double choir a cappella was commissioned for and premiered by the St Louis Chamber Chorus at the opening concert of the 2018–19 season in Christ Church Cathedral, St Louis, MO. The concert was the first in the series States of Being, which reflects on experiences that are quintessentially human.

Photo: St Louis Post-Dispatch

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All works
Year
2018
Commissioner
Commissioned for the St Louis Chamber Chorus by Alison Ferring and Nancy Kranzberg in honour of their friend and longtime soprano with the choir Alice Sherwood
Instrumentation
SATB, SATB
Text
Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931)
Language
English
Premiere
St Louis Chamber Chorus and conductor Philip Barnes at Christ Church Cathedral in St Louis, MI on 30 September 2018
Recordings
Saint Louis Chamber ChorusSaint Louis Premieres

… it had words by Khalil Gibran and inhabited a ravishingly sumptuous tonal world. One of Barnes’ most appealing commissions, it received a gorgeous performance and should get many more in years to come. (Sarah Bryan Miller, St Louis Post-Dispatch)