Invictus

Program Notes

Notes by Stacy Garrop

Invictus

English poet, critic, and editor William Ernest Henley (1849–1903) was diagnosed with a tubercular bone disease at the age of 12, resulting in the eventual amputation of his left leg. While hospital-bound in 1873–1875 after a surgery to save his right leg, he penned the poem “Invictus” as a testament of his determination to persevere.

The word invictus is Latin for unconquerable or undefeated. Henley named his poem well; its 16 lines speak to having strength and resolve in the face of great adversity. Nelson Mandela, the South African anti-apartheid activist who was jailed for 27 years before becoming the leader of his country, regularly recited the poem while imprisoned. Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, established the Invictus Games in 2014, an international sporting event that promotes the recovery and rehabilitation of wounded service personnel worldwide and celebrates their resilience. 

In my concerto Invictus, I focus on the first verse of Henley’s poem, with each line representing a movement:

1. Out of the night that covers me,

The soloist wakes up at the bottom of a pit, represented by the orchestra. The soloist tries to climb out, only to be forced back down by the orchestra. After singing a song to find inner strength, the soloist climbs again but is forced down once more.

1. Black as the pit from pole to pole,

The soloist is violently tossed from side to side at the bottom of the pit by the orchestral forces.

III. I thank whatever gods may be

Looking up, the soloist prays to the heavens far above.

1. For my unconquerable soul.

The soloist sings the song again, then climbs, this time placating the orchestra as needed, before triumphantly reaching the rim of the pit and escaping.

Invictus was co-commissioned by pianist Marta Aznavoorian, pianist, and the American Composers Forum. American Composers Forum support is made possible by The Thelma Hunter Fund. Marta and I wish to thank individual donors Alexandra Nichols, Madeleine Plonsker, Jim Stone, and Nicholas Yasillo for making this commission possible.

Joie de vivre

I first met Joanne Bernstein at a concert in Highland Park, IL, in fall 2022. Since then, we have worked together on a musical project (Repair the World), shared many meals, and jointly attended numerous theater and musical performances. As our friendship deepened, I’ve been struck by how robustly she embraces life. She takes a proactive approach to living each day and finding moments of joy and beauty in the world around her. Joanne puts this outlook into practice in many ways: the importance of spending time with family, her desire to enrich the lives of people around her through writing and lecturing about arts management, her curiosity to travel abroad, her daily swims in the summertime, and her deep love of art, music, and culture. She has a particular fondness for French painter George Seurat’s 1886 masterpiece, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte and the Stephen Sondheim musical it inspired. To me, all of these combined facets of Joanne’s life demonstrate her joy of living. The French expression, “joie de vivre” (joy of life), brings together beautifully everything I want to express musically about Joanne.

To represent Joanne’s approach to life, Joie de vivre is adventurous and embraces the unexpected. The piece starts with a short, introspective opening that unfolds into a warm, vibrant middle section that explores several musical landscapes, from joyful dancing to soulful singing. The music builds to a grand moment, then winds back down to conclude with the introspective sounds that opened the piece. Every moment of Joie de vivre is infused with joy, whether this manifests as excited and dynamic or quiet and contemplative, and is a tribute to the joy I see in Joanne.