by Yang Yang

Barber’s best-known set of songs is the Hermit Songs Op. 29, a group of ten settings of translations of medieval Gaelic or Latin poems attributed to Irish saints and holy persons. He chose texts that are wide-ranging in mood and length, encompassing thoughts that vary from intensely devout to ribald. Barber explained the origin and character of Hermit Songs in his notes: “They are settings of anonymous Irish texts of the eighth to thirteenth centuries written by monks and scholars, often on the margins of manuscripts they were copying or illuminating—perhaps not always meant to be seen by their Father Superiors. They are small poems, thoughts, or observations, some very short, and speak in straightforward, droll, and often surprisingly modern terms of the simple life these men led, close to nature, to animals and to God.” After much thought, I decided to share my work as an amateur photographer interested in religious settings together with my own performance of his music. I chose “The Praises of God,” "St. Ita’s Vision," and “The Crucifixion” from the cycle because together they show a life cycle of Jesus in a simple way: birth, glory, and death. He knows his mission, He came to the world in human form solely to save people, no matter whether those people believe him or not. I know He loves us first, so I want to show the ‘love’ that Jesus gave us in both the music songs and my photography.