Composer’s Notes:

“Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) began writing at age 7 but was 31 before her first work was published. She was hailed as the natural successor to Elizabeth Barrett Browning. A devout Anglo-Catholic, her popularity faded in the early 20th century from Modernism’s backlash, but in the past few decades she has been rediscovered. Her visionary poetry has a deeply religious quality, and a keen sense of the spiritual world.

“‘Rest’ describes the soul’s journey from physical death to Paradise. ‘Echo’ describes with great sensitivity and passion an attempt to regain a love in dreams that has been lost in reality. ‘A Hope Carol’ describes a vigil of a soul who is called to a vision of Paradise, and the second coming of Christ. ‘Echo’ and ‘Rest’ were written in 2009 and 2008 especially for mezzo-soprano Catherine Cook. ‘A Hope Carol’ was composed as a choral piece in 2006. A version for solo voice was composed in 2007 and is dedicated to Elizabeth Mannion.”