Pieta for English Horn and Strings by Ulysses Kay (piano reduction)

Performed for Concert Cast and streamed on Facebook on May 11, 2021. Marissa Honda, English Horn. Jasper Jimenez, Piano. Find sheet music at Carl Fischer: Program notes: Ulysses Kay was born in 1917 and passed away in 1995. Like many composers in the western classical tradition, Kay’s compositional output ranged from large scale orchestral and choral works to chamber music, vocal art song, and solo piano. He also wrote five operas and scored music for several films and tv shows. When searching for music for piano and English horn, this piece stood out for a number of reasons yet, we found no recordings, and very little in the way of program notes. In regards to the title, what we do know is that the piece’s namesake is also the title of Michaelangelo’s famous sculpture of Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus. Translated to English as “the pity” or “mercy,” both Michaelangelo’s and Kay’s masterp