I’d like to offer a sincere word of praise for Noel Edison, John Marshman, and the TMC for their brilliant performance of “God So Loved the World.” I feel very lucky to have been able to attend – what a meaningful event!
As few words from a reviewer who was in attendance…
“…God so Loved the World, by Timothy Corlis. The commission was for a work for choir and cello (thus a companion piece to Tavener’s Svyati) using the lines from John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Corlis sets these lines at the end of the work following his setting of the seven last words of Christ, a subject other composers have treated, notably Haydn. The “seven last words” are not just words, but the final seven utterances of Christ as reported in the four Gospels. Corlis uses the Latin forms except for the fourth one (“My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?”) when he uses Aramaic. The 25-minute work is fluent and expressive, with marvelous use of the cello to accompany and emphasize the vocal content. The work deserves to be widely performed.”
– Michael Johnson, april 4, 2013