Page 13 - Phil 8-28-22 concert program book_Neat

of the Pilgrims and the signing of the Mayflower Compact in November 1620. The
narration details the story of the people who “looked to the horizon with hearts
of hope,” while the soprano soloist sings of the ethereal spirit of the Mayflower
passengers as they agree to unite and prepare to start a new life. Explains Berko,
“I view the narrator as purely the orator of this story chronologically, and I view the
singer as the emotional and dramatic underpinning that finally finds her own voice
in the end.”

Within the composition, there are many references to elements of Americana and
drum patterns from Bruce and Emmett’s Fife and Drum Guide used throughout
American military history. There are also quotes from Psalm 100, known as “Old
Hundredth” and “All People That on Earth Do Dwell.” The melody sung at the end
is based on that Psalm. The melody is set to the text inscribed on the National
Monument to the Forefathers located in Plymouth, MA. The quote is an excerpt
from William Bradford’s memoir, “Of Plymouth Plantation”: “Thus out of small
beginnings greater things have been produced by his hand that made all things of
nothing, and gives being to all things that are; and as one small candle may light
a thousand, so the light here kindled hath shone to many, yea in some sort to our
whole nation...”

[It is important to note who wrote the narration for this music, as well as what
inspired the creation of this music.

The creation of this music was inspired by a November 2017 OpEd piece
published in the Boston Globe by Jeff Jacoby about The Mayflower Compact. It
was as concise and clear a writing on the subject I had ever read. I immediately
emailed Mr. Jacoby with my congratulations and my thanks for writing it.

When Cape Symphony conductor Jung-Ho Pak and I were discussing joint
commissioning projects between our orchestras to commemorate the Plymouth
400 anniversary, I shared with him the OpEd piece written by Jeff Jacoby. We
both agreed music about The Mayflower Compact would be one of our two co-
commissions. (The other would be Tonya Wind Singer’s Wampanoag: Stories
for All Time.) Jung-Ho Pak knew a journalist/librettist living on Cape Cod, Josh
Delaney. We invited Mr. Delaney to write the narration for Mayflower. He
graciously accepted the invitation. – sk]

Berko’s music has been widely performed throughout the U.S. and abroad by
orchestras, choirs, and chamber ensembles. His recent collaborators include

2022/23 SEASON PAGE 13