Artist Spotlight: Stacy Garrop on “Terra Nostra”

Hi, my name is Stacy Garrop, and I’m the composer of Terra Nostra. The movement that’s most special to me is number 15, which is “The Want of Peace” by Wendell Berry. This is special to me because I had originally thought I was going with a different text, and very late in the process of composing the oratorio, it became apparent that there were too many rights issues to use that particular text. At the moment, I asked Jim Ginsburg if he had any ideas of a poem that might fit the needs of the moment, and he suggested Wendell Berry. Now, Wendell Berry is someone I’d checked out earlier in the process of writing the oratorio, but it wasn’t until Jim suggested him again I realized that “The Want of Peace” fit the mood of the moment perfectly, and, more than that, it became the heart and soul of the oratorio. We have put together a fabulous recording with the singers, choirs, and musicians for this CD. Please check it out and enjoy Terra Nostra.