Piece Description

Use this clip to enhance your introduction of Robert Spano conducting the Barber "Agnus Dei." (Choral Setting of the Adagio for Strings) (Telarc 80673). 

SUGGESTED HOST INTRO
Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings has become the American anthem for peace and comfort during times of national sadness and loss.  Barber also wrote a choral setting of his Adagio, and in several of its more poignant sections, the sopranos sing in their highest range.  Conductor Robert Spano says he doesn’t have a clue how they reach those notes in the vocal stratosphere, but suggests they likely achieve it by non-musical means.

CLIP TRANSCRIPT
“I think that's the level where any great performer just goes for it.  There has to be a kind of fearlessness and a kind of, you know, the willingness to attempt something knowing that you can fall down and one of the most important things in achieving it is forgetting that possibility.”

SUGGESTED HOST OUTRO
Option 1: (Segue directly to music)

Option 2: Conductor Robert Spano explaining the hard to explain high note acrobatics in the Choral setting of Barber’s Adagio for Strings.  The music is set to the text of the Latin prayer, "Agnus Dei. From his recent CD, he conducts the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chamber Chorus.

(To download a .txt file of this suggested copy, look under the "Additional Files" for this piece.)


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