NEW CHAMBER MUSIC
ABHANDENGEKOMMEN
Missa Brevis
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Premiere: May 7, 2015 / First Readings Project / Minneapolis, MN / J. David Moore
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Instrumentation: SATB unaccompanied
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Duration: c. 15:00'
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Text: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus et Benedictus, Agnus Dei in English (BCP)
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Suitable for advanced High School, collegiate, and adult amateur, and professional choirs
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Appropriate for worship or concert performance
Program Note
As staff singer at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (2000 - 2005), I was thrust into the inner workings of the choral Mass, specifically when composed for use in the execution of the service. Heavy in the Choir of the Basilica's rotation were settings by Palestrina and other 16th and 17th century masters, each serving as a masterclass in polyphonic writing for voices.
Drawing from my experiences at the Basilica, and using melodic material from my Communion Service as a cantus firmus, I completed this setting in 2006, in Newton, Massachusetts. The five major texts of the Ordinary are included in this setting.