Physical copy of the sheet music mailed to you.

Composer: Marcus Norris

Year: 2021

Instrumentation: Flue, Oboe, Clarinet in B-Flat, Bassoon, Horn in F, Trombone, Piano, Vibraphone, Bass Drum, String Quartet, Contrabass 

Duration: 6 minutes

About the Work:

While I was preparing to write this piece, one of my childhood friends, Damion Morgan, died suddenly. As a teenager, Dame was the person who got me started recording my music. I kept my composure about it until my mom hugged me, then I instantly burst into tears.

In that moment, the only words that came out of my mouth, without thinking, were “I’m just so tired, Momma.” I had to spend a lot of time later to decipher what those words meant.

Prior to this, my first classical commission was a violin concertino called “GLORY ”. GLORY was all about triumph despite adversity. It was bold and ambitious and embodied an arrogant spirit in a way typical of young men in their 20s. MERCY, on the other hand, comes after life had beaten me up a bit. In your 20s you can feel invincible, but life has a way of humbling us all over time. I think of MERCY not as a sequel, but sort of the other side of the coin to GLORY. Whereas GLORY was a forceful demand, MERCY is a humbled prayer.

- Marcus Norris