PROGRAM NOTES

Drawn from the large cycle Sirens, this setting of The Book of Matthew goes furthest afield, at least on the dramatic level, in the inclusion of Christ’s calling of the first disciples from the Book of Matthew. Fishing on the Sea of Galilee, Peter and Andrew are approached by Christ, who offers perhaps the most intriguing (and haunting) line in history: “Come, follow me, and I will teach you to be fishers of men.” The meditative, highly static music of the fishermen breaks from its confines when Jesus speaks.