Choral Commission: The Last Seven Words

Earlier this year, I was commissioned by Michael McCarthy, the Canon of Music at the Washington National Cathedral, to write a choral piece based on the Seven Last Words from the Cross. As you may already know, these are actually phrases, not words: they’re the last seven things Jesus Christ said during the Crucifixion, including “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Whatever your relationship to religion — my own is very distant — these are very beautiful and evocative words to work with, and it was an honor to set them to music. The piece, called The Last Seven Words, is scored for children’s choir, harp, string quartet and chamber organ. The idea was for the Cathedral to take its children’s choir and this piece on tour to Spain and Portugal in March. That tour was cancelled, for obvious reasons, but I hope the piece can reach its audience one day soon.