Vergine Bella

The conductor of Choral Arts Northwest, Robert Bode, asked the composer to write a work based on a text about The Blessed Virgin Mary. The final poem in Petrarch's most famous work, Il Canzoniere, was chosen, because it is a prayer to the Blessed Virgin. The composer first quotes a melody by Guillaume Dufay (1397-1474,) and then continues with his own interpretation of the poem, simultaneously using both the original Italian and its English translation, and a few other references to Dufay's music. Duration: ca. 5:20