A Monument to Adam – Carol Barnett

Composer: Carol Barnett Text by: Mark Twain Instrumentation: SATB , fiddle, mandolin, banjo, guitar, bass Duration: Approx. 4'15" minutes Date Written:  2020 Commissioned by The Cantata Singers in honor of Elmira, the place Twain thought was an Eden worthy of Adam. Composer’s note:  composer’s note: The Cantata Singers of Elmira, NY, and their director, will wickham, programmed The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass, and wanted to commission another bluegrass work to round out the concert. By happy coincidence, Mark Twain spent several years in Elmira and was well acquainted with several of the town’s leading citizens – a perfect excuse to set one of his texts. How it happened – Mark Twain’s account: “The matter started as a joke… Mr. Darwin’s Descent of Man had been in print five or six years, and the storm of indignation raised by it was still raging in pulpits and periodicals. In tracing the genesis of the human race back to its source, Mr. Darwin had left Adam out altogether… Jesting