Three Meditations from Mass
- Instrumentation
- Cello, Piano
- Composed
- 1977
- Duration
- 19'
- Publisher
- Boosey & Hawkes
Purchase or download
About this piece
Bernstein drew these three Meditations from his 1971 theatre piece Mass, where the orchestra plays them at moments of extreme tension when the Celebrant says 'Let us pray'. The first two were arranged for cello and piano in 1971 and premiered by Stephen Kates with the composer; for Rostropovich he added a third, built on the 'Epiphany' fantasia, the dance 'In nomine Patris' and the chorale 'Almighty Father', and scored all three for cello with strings, keyboards, harp and percussion (1977). Boosey & Hawkes publishes the cello-and-piano version (about 19 minutes, rated Advanced +) and Hal Leonard the full score; orchestral material is on hire. Meditation No. 1 alone is also in The Boosey & Hawkes Cello Anthology.
Technical overview
Boosey rates the edition ‘Advanced +’; the sources give no further technical detail beyond the sustained first Meditation and the variation form of the second.