The Sad Rain Falls from Heaven (2022)

Carlotta Ferrari (b. 1975) — The Sad Rain Falls from Heaven (2022) for organ

The title of this organ work comes from the first line of a poem (“A Farewell”) by the British writer Amy Levy (1861–1889).

“A Farewell”
Amy Levy

The sad rain falls from Heaven,
A sad bird pipes and sings;
I am sitting here at my window
And watching the spires of “King’s.”

O fairest of all fair places,
Sweetest of all sweet towns!
With the birds, and the greyness and greenness,
And the men in caps and gowns.

All they that dwell within thee,
To leave are ever loth,
For one man gets friends, and another
Gets honour, and one gets both.

The sad rain falls from Heaven;
My heart is great with woe--
I have neither a friend nor honour,
Yet I am sorry to go.

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 eight all-Ferrari organ CDs: four recorded by Carson Cooman (2014/16/18), three by Peter Clark (2015/16/18), and one by Luca Massaglia (2021). 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.