ABSTRACT
The William Ferris Chorale has performed two all-John McCabe concerts, recorded his choral works, given several American premieres and commissioned a work, Amen/Alleluia, for its 20th-anniversary season. Sweeping generalisations about musical style, especially when discussing an artist as inventive as McCabe, can be dangerous, but there are certain fundamental elements in his works that remain constant. The text, by Monica Smith, recounts the pilgrimage of the fifth-century Irish saint Brendan, who with his band of followers sets sail and drifts on the wind and tide, trusting that God will keep them safe. A recurring theme in McCabe's music, both vocal and instrumental, has been the relationship of man to nature, and through it, perhaps, to God. An area of vocal music that McCabe has yet to fully explore is that of songs for voice and piano.
