Cherubic Hymn
(duration approx. 3m)
Description
Cherubic Hymn Text (translations vary)
Let us who mystically represent the Cherubim
And sing the thrice-holy hymn to the Life-Giving Trinity
Let us lay aside now all earthly cares
The Cherubic Hymn is the beginning of the Eucharistic Canon in the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. The text points to those in the church to become like the Cherubim, who worship God perfectly in spirit and truth on account of their attentiveness and lack of worldly cares. This is my own musical setting of the text.
Biography
Daniele Sesi is a double bass player from Ann Arbor, Michigan, with extensive performance experience across a wide variety of genres, including symphonic, chamber, operatic, and historical performance engagements. He has performed with groups including the Indiana University Concert Orchestra, Indiana University Chamber Ensemble, Chautauqua Music Festival Orchestra, and the Jackson Symphony . He is also on the list of substitute musicians with the Lansing Symphony Orchestra, Michigan Opera Theatre, Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra, and the Gävle Symphony Orchestra. Being also a soloist, he has performed the Koussevitzky, Bottesini, and Dittersdorf Concerti, along with numerous other solo works on multiple occasions. In addition, his educational background is quite extensive, having performed in masterclasses with Nina DeCesare, Owen Lee, Curtis Burris, Stephen Molina, Chris Hamlen, Caroline Coade, Lawrence Hurst, Winston Budrow, Max Dimoff, Jeffrey Turner, Kurt Muroki, and Kevin Brown. His primary teachers include Kevin Brown and Jeffrey Turner, studying at Michigan State University and Indiana University respectively. Having a keen interest in early music and historically informed performance, he also studies the viol with Janet Cannon. Danny plays on an unmarked French bass from the 1860s and a Raposo bow.
Reflection
The CREATE! Microgrant has been an absolute boon to me. I have always wanted to get into music composition, but due to the fact that my primary vocation is bass performance, I never had the time, and even if I did, most importantly, I never had the opportunity to procure the performance of my works. Well, this summer I happened to find a good deal of time to compose, just in time for the CREATE! application. The money received from this allowed me to have several singers perform this piece, as one must always take care of other artists, especially when getting your own compositions performed.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, I have learned a lot about myself and my own relationship to making music, with myself and with others. For over a year and a half during the pandemic, I went through a very dark time when I thought I was not going to be able to live out my dream of being a musician, and so I simply gave up, filled with despair. This, however, was an important time for me to reflect on music’s importance in my life, and its importance in how I relate with others, which allowed me to come back with a zeal like no other.
It is salient and of utmost importance for people with means to support artists around them. It brings benefit to themselves, the artist, and the community that the artist touches around them. For this reason I think that everyone else who received the microgrant surely benefited greatly from this, and that anyone else in the future with similar intentions would benefit just as much, if not more.