Scenes from the Life of a Martyr

This epic work is a musical depiction of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life: his birth and adolescence, adulthood, marriage to Coretta Scott, missionary work, assassination, and finally, his afterlife. Scored for SATB chorus, SATB soloists, narrator, and orchestra, the 40-minute cantata consists of 16 movements. This is the first engraved edition of the vocal score with piano reduction. Undine Smith Moore became the first African American woman composer to earn a Pulitzer Prize nomination for the original orchestra score. Moore drew the text from various sources, including the Bible and spiritual songs. While the piece does not follow any particular form or structure, the musical styles change from beginning to end, corresponding to King's growth. The piece starts with settings of spirituals representing his mother singing to him, and once the piece moves into King's adulthood, styles change and become more individualistic, more personal for the composer, and more idiomatic of 20th-century styles. A very powerful work honoring the incredible life of Martin Luther King, Jr.