This past Saturday, January 26th, was the feast day of my cousin, Cheryl. In the Catholic tradition, the day of one’s death is the day of his or her birth into heaven, hence, that day becomes his or her feast day. Cheryl died, unexpectedly following a surgery on her back, last year on the 26th of January. Kind and generous, fun-loving and loving, smart and industrious are all words that describe Cheryl. She could be a wee bit overly-indulgent to her dog, Buster, and I suppose, Buster was equally overly-indulgent (as dogs can be) toward Cheryl. She loved her family, and doted on her nephews and her grand nieces and nephews.
In her memory, I composed this Mazurka for Cheryl. A Mazurka is a Polish dance in three, usually with the second or third beat of the measure heavily accented. One of the most celebrated composers of Mazurkas was the 19th century Polish pianist and composer, Frederic Chopin. It is figured that he composed 45 Mazurkas, of which 41 have Opus numbers, and 13 more Mazurkas published posthumously, of which 8 have posthumous Opus numbers. It is believed that there are still 11 Mazurkas manuscripts of Chopin’s that are either in private hands, or untraceable.
Since Cheryl’s Mazurka is part of my collection of piano music I call, Psalm Offerings, think of this song as an aural prayer for Cheryl. Like Cheryl, the music is lively and full of fun. I composed this song and the rest of the piano music for Opus 9 during the winter and spring of 2018.
The music’s corresponding psalm is Psalm 149.
Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in its Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.
Let them praise his name with dancing,
making melody to him with tambourine and lyre.
For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
he adorns the humble with victory.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy on their couches.
(Psalm 149: 1-5. NRSV Bible)
