Original Instrumentation:
Mezzo-Soprano Solo, Chorus, Orchestra
Text: Hymn to the Holy Trinity (sung in Polish)
Duration: 7 min
Year: 2007
Performance History: First performed at Waterford Union High School, Wisconsin, by the Waterford Union Chorus and Orchestra, conducted by Derek Machan, January 9, 2011. Subsequent performances at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, NY by the Distinguished Concerts Orchestra and Chorus, and Cadogan Hall, London by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
FROM CHRISTOPHER: My setting of the Polish hymn to the Holy Trinity was inspired by an essay about the Wieliczka Salt Mine. Poland is a country ravaged by centuries of warfare, yet deep inside this salt mine, thousands of feet under fields where bloody wars were waged, is the beautiful chapel of St. Kinga, with chandeliers made of rock salt. It's a metaphorical beating heart deep in the heart of Poland, that kept Polish faith alive throughout its bloody history.