Prayers of Kierkegaard - Musical Significance

Musical Significance

Prayers of Kierkegaard is an unequivocal religious statement that Samuel Barber divided into 4 distinct parts, each representing a different prayer. The first section speaks of “God the Unchangeable” and begins in an unaccompanied chant performed by unaccompanied male voices in a Gregorian chant style. It then continues with the orchestra responding to the chant in imitative counterpoint until the chorus and orchestra join in climax on the words "Thou Art Unchanging," repeating the theme of the text.

In the second section, which is recited in the first person, the soprano solo receives the melody from an oboe solo. This minimalism, however, is changed in the third section that reflects Russian chorus writing in the thickness of the lines. This prayer grows in both the chorus and the orchestra, until it expands into a dance which ends with the sempre forte "Father In Heaven" by the chorus.

This is one of Samuel Barber's most personal works and it is shown though this amazing music as "the prayers Barber chose to set were taken from Kierkegaard’s journals and sermons, and reflect both Kierkegaard’s and Barber’s belief in the power of God’s redemption through affirmative human deeds and personal self-awareness."