Featured Premiere Mary’s Song Composer: Michael Hudlin
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Sitting here on the cold stable floor, with creatures both great and small Joseph my bethrothed fills the manger with straw...” It’s September, and in a short talk about the season and the likelihood of us being unable to have live music, Carl-Anthony and Michael Hudlin are having a discussion on pandemic protocols and performance. Carl-Anthony: “I think it would be interesting to see what you would do with that as a creative brief” Michael:
“What? With what?”
CA: “A carol. A Christmas story piece, written for no more than 5 persons.” M:
*Chortles* “Any more things?”
CA:
*hums* “It should be no more than 5 minutes? Hmm. This is going to be a thing.”
Conversation topic changed, Hudlin may have thought it forgotten. Until a message made its way to him: A Christmas piece, no more than 5 performers following protocol. At least one steel pan, at least one singer, piano is optional, percussion also optional. It should be on the Christmas story in keeping with the theme.
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A month and some weeks later, the commissioned music was received. Mary’s song CA:
A post-partum Magnificat? That’s new
M:
*surprised laugh* well yeah, I guess that is it.
CA:
I see you went lower than the forces stipulation and delivered beautiful lines. Your words?
M:
Yeah, they came to me some time ago and this is how I heard it.
CA:
How would you describe it?
“It is an art song based on what I perceive as Mary’s thoughts after giving birth, what she felt for and feared for her child…what she saw around her, and thought was coming for and to her. It [the piece] conveys this position as accessibly as possible, and as much in the style of a carol as possible – how I imagine that they (carols) would sound f rom me.”
