Episode 4 - 1946: Leo Sowerby, Canticle of the Sun
Hearing The Pulitzers
English - April 06, 2020 01:01 - 25 minutes - 29.1 MBMusic History Music Music Commentary Homepage Download Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Previous Episode: Episode 3 - 1945: Aaron Copland, Appalachian Spring
In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore the winner of the fourth Pulitzer Prize in Music, Leo Sowerby for Canticle of the Sun. You might not have heard of Sowerby unless you regularly perform church music, but in the mid-20th century he was a powerhouse, especially in the Chicago musical scene. See what we think about Sowerby's setting of Francis of Assisi's hymn and why we think Sowerby might be overlooked today.
If you'd like more information about Canticle of the Sun and Leo Sowerby, we recommend:
Brice Gerlach's dissertation "Leo Sowerby's The Canticle of the Sun: An Analysis for Performance."
Timothy Sharp's article "The Choral Music of Leo Sowerby: A Centennial Perspective," which you can find in The Choral Journal. 35, no. 8 (1995): 9–19.
A good recording of the piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1yxjhfSH4A
Leo Sowerby's papers and archives at Northwestern University: https://findingaids.library.northwestern.edu/repositories/3/resources/495