Ancren Chronicles
(1980)
The title derives from “anchoress,” an archaic word meaning “a woman who lives in religious seclusion; a nun.”
“Ancren Chronicles” was commissioned by the Shenandoah Conservatory women’s choir, Cantus Singers, at the request of its director James Laster. A song cycle, the piece consists of thirteen poems written by Susan Purinton, whose daughter was enrolled in an all-girls Catholic school located near a small Virginia town on the eastern side of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The texts deal with the girls, the nuns, and their relationships, over the course of a year, from fall arrival to spring graduation. The recurring refrain, “love is the essence of life,” binds the texts into a narrative of love, hope, mystery, exploration, and pain.
- I. The Girls
- II. The Sisters
- III. Sister June
- IV. Our Lady of the Lake
- V. Georgia
- VI. Veronica
- VII. Sarah
- VIII. Leslie
- IX. Sister Naomi
- X. Friday
- XI. April
- XII. A Question of Loyalty
- XIII. Introitus
Audio Excerpt
III. Sister June (Cantus Singers)
VII. Sarah (Cantus Singers)
XI. April (Cantus Singers)
Instrumentation
- SSA divisi + solos
- Harp
- 2 Percussion
Duration
33:41
Premiere
Shenandoah Conservatory, Winchester VA, April 1980 Cantus Singers, James H. Laster, director; Alyce Rideout, harp; Jeffrey Armor & Robin Downing, percussion
Commission
Cantus Singers