Program Note

Aside from the Declaration of Independence, there is no text that epitomizes American ideals as much as the Constitution. It embodies eighteenth-century values, and is written in eighteenth-century language. So, I thought that a corresponding eighteenth-century musical style was called for, with Handelian oratorio as the obvious model. Thus, I wrote choruses, arias and recitatives such as you would find in The Messiah or Israel in Egypt. I wanted music with gravitas, and, at the same time, I wanted the music to have a recognizably American sound, something that becomes more apparent in the progress of the amendments from the Bill of Rights through the various voting rights amendments.

Why sing the Constitution? The idea of singing a code of law, although uncommon today, is an ancient one. Traditionally, the Ten Commandments are sung in the synagogue by the congregation three times a year. The Kol Nidre is an intoned recitation of a legalistic text. If religious laws can be sung, why not secular laws? 

Why sing anything? Singing is an alchemical means of transmuting language into something more powerful than language. Historically, sacred song has served to imbue religious words with feeling, beauty and majesty, and to give people a reason to sing together. Secular song has tended to stick to love and related topics, but political and historical subjects have also been sung about from time to time: Think of sagas, national anthems, war chants, campaign songs, etc. The few songs that we sing together as a nation, apart from The Star-Spangled Banner and Take Me Out to the Ball Game, tend to be the popular songs of our youth, rather than anything with civic significance. Beyond We Shall Overcome, there is an obvious need for something we can all sing together and believe in.