Programme Note
The three extracted sections from Margaret Garner, an opera in two acts, were arranged for soprano Angela Brown, who premiered the role of Cilla in Margaret Garner in May 2005 in Detroit. The character of Cilla portrays a woman of great faith in the midst of extraordinary trials - namely the impact of slavery on her family in Kentucky in the years just before the Civil War. Although this is not the title role in the opera, it is nonetheless a critical one, as the character of Cilla is an anchor or reference point from which the other characters clarify their respective identities. Similarly, the Three Prayers are structural pillars in the opera, and as they were composed, it became clear that they would work well together as a separate concert piece.
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Richard Danielpour