Memorial Day Weekend Organ Recital Featuring Kimberly Marshall
The debt we owe our service men and women across the centuries is one we know we can never fully repay. At Washington National Cathedral, Memorial Day is an opportunity to celebrate those who sacrificed their lives for the American nation, as well as their families and caregivers who supported them. They are extraordinary people with extraordinary stories.
Today, we celebrate the resilience and fortitude of our armed services, giving thanks for their bravery and honoring their myriad achievements for our country.
American organist Kimberly Marshall presents an eclectic program of remembrance and celebration. The concert opens with Sharon Willis’s Exodus Suite, a tribute to Harriet Tubman. Composed on the eve of World War II, Jehan Alain’s Deuils (Mourning), is subtitled: a funeral dance to honor a heroic memory. The other French work on the program is César Franck’s Pièce héroïque, perhaps recalling the bravery of French soldiers during the Prussian invasion of Paris in 1870-71. A more generic portrayal of war is heard in a seventeenth-century Portuguese “battle” piece, where organ sounds depict calvary attacks and retreating soldiers. The Organ Mass: L’homme armé by Margaret Sandresky bases each of its movements on a popular medieval tune, “the armed man,” integrating sacred and secular. Marshall’s program is designed to exploit the large resources of the Cathedral’s Great Organ, providing the audience with opportunities for reflection and gratitude.
This concert is free. Tickets are not required to attend this concert in-person. Registration is required to view this concert online. Registrants will be sent a link to view the concert on May 29.