Arvo Pärt’s Trisagion is a luminous meditation rooted in the ancient Orthodox hymn invoking the “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal.” Composed in 1992, the work exemplifies Pärt’s signature tintinnabuli style—a radically pared-down musical language that pairs stepwise melodic motion with resonant triadic harmony. The result is music of profound stillness, in which every note carries spiritual weight.

Written for string orchestra, Trisagion unfolds slowly and deliberately, allowing silence, resonance, and harmonic gravity to shape the listener’s experience as much as melody itself. Rather than dramatic gesture, Pärt offers contemplation: sound becomes prayer, and repetition becomes ritual. The music seems to exist outside of time, drawing performers and listeners alike into a space of inward listening and reverence.

In Trisagion, Pärt bridges the ancient and the modern, reminding us that simplicity can be a vessel for immense emotional and spiritual depth.

Jamie Barton, mezzo-soprano

Nathan Chan, cello

Jake Heggie’s The Work at Hand is an intimate, deeply human meditation on courage and creation in the face of mortality. Composed in 2014 for mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton and cellist Anne Martindale Williams, the work sets poetry by Laura Morefield, written during her final year of life as she confronted terminal illness. Rather than lament, Heggie finds light — transforming loss into purpose and fragility into grace.

Scored for mezzo-soprano, cello, and orchestra, the three movements trace a journey from inward reflection to transcendent calm. The cello’s voice becomes both companion and conscience, entwined with the singer’s lines in shared vulnerability. Heggie’s lyrical language, by turns tender and luminous, captures the poet’s message: that art itself is a form of endurance. The Work at Hand is not about dying, but about living fully — an act of courage rendered in sound.

Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4, commonly known as the “Italian,” is a radiant celebration of light, motion, and youthful vitality. Inspired by the composer’s travels through Italy in the early 1830s, the symphony reflects Mendelssohn’s deep impression of the country’s landscapes, architecture, and cultural energy. From the exuberant opening movement, the music bursts forth with buoyant rhythms and sparkling orchestration, capturing a sense of sunlit joy.

The inner movements offer contrast and lyricism: a graceful second movement evokes a solemn procession, while the third unfolds with elegant charm and classical poise. The finale, a whirlwind saltarello, propels the symphony to an exhilarating close with relentless drive and rhythmic brilliance.

Balancing Classical clarity with Romantic expressiveness, the “Italian” Symphony stands as one of Mendelssohn’s most beloved works—effortlessly joyous, meticulously crafted, and endlessly invigorating.