A tribute to a living legend, celebrating the life and music of the artist whom musicologist Nick Strimple has called 'the only American composer in history who can be called a mystic'. National Medal of Arts recipient and most frequently performed American choral composer, Morten Lauridsen spends summers on a remote island in the Pacific Northwest. Featuring intimate interviews in California, Scotland and Waldron Island, Washington, interwoven with performances of his masterworks and commentaries by music contemporaries. Revealed through the lens of his passion for nature and music, Lauridsen expresses a presence of fierce compassion and unwavering dedication to the craft of composition. First episode in the film series, 'In Search of The Great Song'.—Anonymous
Beginning and ending in the scenic splendor of Waldron Island, Washington, the inspirational source for much of Lauridsen's music, we journey across continents hearing his story told in his own words- early years, musical influences, his connection to Scotland, and the composing of one of his most well-known works, Lux Aeterna- with commentaries throughout by peers and musical professonnials, all in agreement that his music has extraordinary endurance- as some say, that it will still be performed centuries from now.
Performances and rehearsals by American and European choirs, both live and soundtrack, together with Lauridsen's inspirational exhortations to the singers, weave throughout the film, creating a sonic background for heaing the story of this unique musician and educator. Another theme is the power of music to help when dealing with loss or sorrow, as Lauridsen himself did when writing Lux Aeterna in response to his mother's impending death.
