Santa Clara University

In June of 2009 the Ignatian Center planned a series of events to take place in early November 2009 to commemorate the legacy of the Jesuit martyrs who were assassinated in 1989 at the University of Central America.  As a part of this tribute to the martyrs the Center commissioned a musical piece to be composed by a promising young composer and student at SCU, Sally Lynne Mitchell. Sally spent the summer composing a choral piece titled Plegaria de Liberación.

The Musical Composition

Plegaria de Liberación serves as a meditation in which the listener is guided through a spiritual journey comprising the realization of the finite nature of man, the necessary process of surrender, and the path leading to liberation and transformation. The vocal forces used are symbolic of the events of 1989 that we commemorate today. The male voices in the choir intentionally allude to the Jesuit martyrs in El Salvador, and the female voices recall the women who tragically lost their lives while faithfully serving the Jesuit household.

The listener will note that this work is bilingual employing both Spanish and English. Although these specific events took place in the Spanish-speaking country of El Salvador, the doctrines of Liberation Theology have spread far beyond those borders. The use of English in tandem with Spanish symbolizes our recognition of the important work of these Martyrs, and it also suggests that together all peoples must actively engage with one another to promulgate this theology of equality. To quote Romero’s Prayer, “We are prophets of a future not our own.”

The Composer

Sally Lynne Mitchell '11 is a member of the Santa Clara University undergraduate class of 2011. Ms. Mitchell was born in 1986 and was raised on a farm in the bucolic environment of Chesterfield, New Hampshire. Upon graduation from high school, she achieved her national certification in massage therapy, which she has continued to practice while working toward her BA from SCU as music major with an emphasis in composition. For five consecutive summers during her high school years, she focused on music composition at the Walden school, a summer school and festival for young musicians, and currently studies music composition with Dr. Pamela Layman Quist.