Events

New Artistic Mélange

Hymn for Everyone

Jessie Montgomery

Jessie Montgomery, whose “Banner” MSO played in 2021, wrote “Hymn for Everyone” in 2022. In a YouTube interview she notes that it is both a response to the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, and a reflection on hymns in general, which have, through history, offered a sense of both community and individual solace. She has imagined the orchestra as a collection of choirs, and the tune, which is repeated in different guises throughout the work, resembles many hymns in having a straightforward rhythm, and in feeling very singable. Although there are no dramatic contrasts in this 11-minute piece, the music combines a sense of interior contemplation with more public outcry.