Poem by Robert Burns
Chorus SATB and chamber orchestra
Commissioned by and premiered by Robert DeCormier Singers
Robert DeCormier, conductor
Merkin Concert Hall, New York
Mobart Music Publications
One movement, 9 1/2 minutes
Holy Willie’s Prayer, a satire by a virtuoso poet, shows Robert Burns at his best in a remarkable balance of empathy, hatred, and comedy. Burns lived most of his life (1759-1796) in the small Scottish farming village of Mauchline, a virtually theocratic community in which power resided in the local Presbyterian Church and its minister, the Reverend William Auld.
According to Calvinist doctrine of predestination, God has foreordained the salvation or damnation of all souls, regardless of one’s earthly behavior. While one logical conclusion from this tenet might be to enjoy one’s life on earth, since there were no posthumous consequences thereto, Father Auld in particular took the opposite point of view, imposing narrow moral guidelines upon his parishioners. No one was more assiduous in rooting out singing, dancing, gambling, and houghmagandie (guess what) than Auld’s assistant, Holy Willie (William Fisher), a tenant farmer who had become an elder in the church.
Willie overstepped himself one day, bringing up Gavin Hamilton, the leading citizen of the town, on charges of having permitted his servants to dig up potatoes on the Sabbath. Hamilton defended himself against these charges with the help of a lawyer, Robert Aiken, and not only won his case, but insisted that that the Church give him a certificate declaring himself free from sin and public scandal as of that moment. The Church refused, so Hamilton appealed to the Presbytery of Ayr, which forced the Church to grant him the certificate.
This was the first of several major defeats for Holy Willie. Some years later he was publicly rebuked by the minister for drunkenness, and later removed from his post, probably for dipping into the church funds and the milkmaids.
Burns’ Holy Willie’s Prayer includes all of these incidents and characters in a devastating yet sympathetic persona poem, in which Willie prays for vengeance on his enemies for their sins, and forgiveness for his own.
I began composing the music as soon as I first read the poem, using a kind of demented pentipedic Salvation Army march as the main theme. The poem contains many built-in crescendi of arrogance, pride, fury, and murderous hostility, as well as a contrasting quieter mood of false repentance and humility. In keeping with Willie’s character, the music is stark and energetic, featuring a borderline unpredictability of mood and temper.