Performance / 2024

I am the Resurrection

Singer with Ars Populi

Thomas Morley was a composer of the late Renaissance, writing in England at the end of the 16th century. His Funeral Sentences, from which this excerpt is drawn, were performed at the funeral of Elizabeth I, a year after Morley's own death in 1602.

The text's final line contains a startling juxtaposition: "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." Even loss—the passing of the deceased—is accepted with gratitude, being as it is the will of god.

Ars Populi (Latin for "art of the people") is a vocal ensemble founded in 2023 by All-Ireland champion singer Kevin Elam to present acappella music, from folk to sacred, at a world-class level. Comprising six of the Mid-Atlantic’s most talented singers from a range of backgrounds, Ars Populi has garnered critical acclaim for our sensitive treatment of a wide range of repertoire, from Medieval and Renaissance gems to 20th century works, new arrangements of traditional folk ballads, jazz & pop standards, and more.