The Canticle of the Sun (Sonnengesang) is a composition by Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina written in 1997 and published by Hans Sikorski, it is based on the "Canticle of the Sun" by Saint Francis of Assisi and is dedicated to Mstislav Rostropovich for his seventieth birthday.
[1] Though the piece features a soloist and an ensemble, Gubaidulina does not consider it a cello concerto.
[2] Sofia Gubaidulina gives the following outline of the formal sections: Though, she notes that the cellist's 'abandonment' of their instrument actually divides the piece in two.
The piece is written for cello, choir, string orchestra, and percussion.
The piece was completed in 1997, and was premiered the year after on 2nd September 1998 in Frankfurt, Germany by Mstislav Rostropovich, the State Choir of Kaunas and the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra.