Licht Leben Lieben (2016)

Carlotta Ferrari (b. 1975) — Licht Leben Lieben (2016) for organ

“Licht Leben Lieben” (2016) is inspired by the Stalingrad Madonna, an image of the Virgin Mary drawn by a German soldier (Karl Reuber) in 1942 during the Battle of Stalingrad. It hangs in Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin. The drawing is a charcoal sketch of Mary wrapped in a shawl, holding Jesus to her cheek. Written in the border are the words “Licht, Leben, Liebe” (“Light, Life, Love”), drawn from the Gospel of John.

Carlotta Ferrari (b. 1975) is an Italian composer. Educated at the Conservatory in Milan, she has composed in many genres, developing a personal language that is concerned with the blend of past and present. Her compositions have been performed frequently around the world. Ferrari’s music appears on several CD recordings, including four all-Ferrari organ CDs: three recorded by Carson Cooman (2014/16) and another by Peter Clark (2015). She served as chair of music composition at Hebei Normal University in Shijiazhuang, China and is currently professor of music composition at the European School of Economics in Florence, Italy.