The Tower and the Garden

May 11th, 2019, at 8:00pm
and May 12th, 2019, at 3:00pm
Church of St. Luke in the Fields
487 Hudson Street, New York City

Three Motets, Charles Villiers Stanford
Seven Songs of Experience, Gerard Victory
The Tower and the Garden, Gregory Spears (New York premiere)

In a nationwide collaboration with The Crossing, Volti, and Notre Dame Vocale, Cantori New York gives the New York premiere of a joint commission from Gregory Spears. Exploring the search for truth amidst the uncertainty of the modern world, Spears's three-movement work sets poems by Denise Levertov, Thomas Merton, and Keith Garabian. Garabian does homage to gay rights activist and filmmaker Derek Jarman, whose cottage (and garden) hung precariously between a nuclear power plant and the sea. With string quartet. Opulent choral settings by Irish composers Stanford and Victory open the program.