Margarita Zelenaia
Mother's Lamentation
Year: 1990
Duration (in minutes): 13'39;
Difficulty: High (professional)
Category: larger chamber ensembles - more than 4 players, orchestra and chamber orchestra, string ensemble
Instruments: any string, cello, contrabass, viola, violin
Publisher: Self-Produced
Description: In March 2003 “Mother’s Lamentation” (for mezzo-soprano and string orchestra) had a world premiere. It is based on Chingiz Aitmatov’s prose, an excerpt from his great novel “The Day That Lasts More Than a Hundred Years”. At that time I did not have the English version of the text (now I do have), so the American opera singer Leslie Middlebrook sang it in Russian. “One World Symphony Ensemble”, conducted by David Hong performed the work with her. It lasts about 13 minutes.
D. Hong decided to combine the complete stage production of the opera “Dido and Aeneas” by H. Purcell and my “Mother’s Lamentations” in one program. The austere and beautiful “Dido’s Lament” is a 17th century parallel to my “Mother’s Lamentations”, that was written to the beautiful prose by Ch. Aitmatov in the 20th century, a modern approach to the same genre.
It seems, that, despite the difference in the time frames, and musical methods of expression, the tragedy, the pain, the loss of a loved one are felt the same.