Composer: Deanna WitkowskiDetailsFormat: Mixed Choir - 4 voicesVoicing: SATBIncidental Divisi: A, TAccompaniment: keyboardInstrumentation: pianoNotation: standardPerformance Length: 3:50 Study Scores & Audio FilesStudy Score & Audio Order Printed ScoresOrder site / Alternate source of score: MusicSpoke Texts & TranslationsLanguage(s): PortugueseText Source: Deanna WitkowskiText: Ó Mãe querida, cheia de graça, ajude esta viajante quem, como você, é estrangeira longe do seu país. Fique perto de mim quando eu me sinto solitária. Ilumine meu caminho quando não sei por onde caminhar. Cheia de graça, cheia de força, me da seu coração aberto pra ver beleza pra ouvir música pra sentir seu amor. Translation: O dear Mother, full of grace, help this traveler who, like you, is a foreigner far from her country. Stay close to me when I feel lonely. Enlighten my path when I don’t know where to walk. Full of grace, full of strength, give me your open heart to see beauty to hear music to feel your love. Programming AidsPerformance Difficulty: moderateDescriptive Terms: prayerfultendercourageMarymotherAllow Excerpts: Composition is a single movementComposer’s Notes: “Oração” was composed during an eight week artist residency at the Sacatar Institute in Itaparica, Bahia, Brazil in the spring of 2018. My purpose in being in Bahia was to research different invocations of Nossa Senhora- “Our Lady,” the Virgin Mary- that have particular ties to Brazil. I interviewed devotees of Mary- primarily Bahian women- and visited various types of religious ceremonies where I witnessed firsthand how strongly Mary is loved and revered. Even among non-Catholics, the concept of “Mãe”- “mother”- is central to Brazilian culture, and Mary’s title as “Mãe de Deus” (“Mother of God”) extends to her being a cherished Mother of the Brazilian people. Saying the “Ave Maria” at many Catholic Masses, I repeatedly uttered the phrase, “cheia de grace” (“full of grace”). This phrase became personal to me while writing this musical prayer. I ask for Mary’s grace and “força”- which can only be partially translated as “strength”- in the final, sweeping section at letter D. I am grateful to Nossa Senhora and to the many Brazilians who embody a faith that knows that we are all being held and strengthened by a “Mãe querida” (“dear Mother”). Additional InformationDate of Completion: May, 2018Date of First Performance: Friday, June 15, 2018Premier Performance Data: Choral Arts Initiative (Brandon Elliott, cond), St. Mark Presbyterian Church, Newport Beach, CA