A Cradle Song
SATB choir and piano 5’ (2016)
Program Note
Text: William Blake (1757-1827), Songs of Innocence (1789)
Caritas
Unaccompanied SATB choir 5’ (2014)
Score available at Universal Edition
Program Note
Caritas for unaccompanied SATB choir (2007, revised 2014) is based on the text from Hildegard von Bingen’s Antiphon of the Holy Spirit from “Symphonia Armonie Celestium Revelationum.” The complexity of vocal lines mirrors the transparency and emotion of the text. Its uplifting and affectionate portrayal also conveys a sense of inner peace and gratitude. The choral writing expresses profound emotions by using various melodies and rhythms to capture a sense of endlessness and seek out heavenly harmonies.
mercy
Unaccompanied SATB choir 5’
Score available at Universal Edition
Program Note
Text: Have mercy on me, God, have mercy (Psalm 57)
where love resides
Unaccompanied SSAA choir 8’
Score available at Universal Edition
Program Note
Text: The Beauty of a Woman, Teresa Mahieu
Performances
- May 2017 - Belle Voci Choir; Craig Cannon, director (premiere). Laurie Ann Community Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Towards the Light
Unaccompanied SATB choir 5’
Program Note
Text: John Henry Newman (1801-90), Lead, Kindly Light from "The Pillar of the Cloud" (1833)
Eternal Peace
Unaccompanied SATB or SSAA choir 5’
Published by Paraclete Press.
Program Note
Mixing Latin and English, this contemplative work is sung a cappella and mixes unison with four-part writing. Mystical in spirit and sound, it has a rare beauty that is moving. Paraclete Press
Performances
- Duquesne University Pappert Women’s Chorale, Craig Cannon, cond., The Church of the Epiphany, Pittsburgh PA (October 2014)
- Boston Choral Ensemble; Andrew Shenton, director (premiere). Cosmic Journey, The Hayden’s Planetarium, Boston, MA (May and June 2014)
Carol Lullaby
Unaccompanied SATB or SAB choir; also for SATB choir, flute and organ (2012, rev. 2014) 3’
Published by Paraclete Press.
Program Note
Text: English Traditional, from Ancient English Christmas Carols: 1400-1700, ed. E. Rickert
A lyrical carol based on an English traditional text. Set in a gentle 6/8 meter, this is available in several versions: SATB a cappella; SATB and flute; SAB a cappella, and Treble voices and keyboard. Paraclete Press
Performances
- Duquesne University Voices of Spirit, Craig Cannon, cond; The Church of the Epiphany, Pittsburgh PA (December 2014)
- Cathedral Choir, David Rudari, cond. (premiere), St. Joseph Cathedral, Wheeling WV (December 2012)
Eyes of Mercy
Unaccompanied SATB choir 2’
Published by World Library Publications
Program Notes
Lætare Vox, takes its title from the name often used to denote the fourth Sunday of Lent, also known as Lætare Sunday. As the very season season of Lent, the piece gradually unfolds from the inner piece at the very beginning to the agonizing intensity of its climax; the work concludes with a sense of inward rejoicing portrayed by the overtone singing. This work reflects several compositional approaches that I have been exploring in my recent compositions. The first one is the concept of pitch space distance and melodic attractions developed by cognitive music theory. The second is the musical relative interdependence of pitch hierarchies, rhythm, and modes of performance, especially the structural pathways of pitch space and melodic attraction.
Performances
- October 2010 - St. Michael’s Schola Cantorum; Zvonimir Nagy, director. St. Michael in Old Town, Chicago, IL
Lætare Vox
Unaccompanied soprano 3’
Program Notes
Lætare Vox, takes its title from the name often used to denote the fourth Sunday of Lent, also known as Lætare Sunday. As the very season season of Lent, the piece gradually unfolds from the inner piece at the very beginning to the agonizing intensity of its climax; the work concludes with a sense of inward rejoicing portrayed by the overtone singing. This work reflects several compositional approaches that I have been exploring in my recent compositions. The first one is the concept of pitch space distance and melodic attractions developed by cognitive music theory. The second is the musical relative interdependence of pitch hierarchies, rhythm, and modes of performance, especially the structural pathways of pitch space and melodic attraction.
Performances
- February 2010 - Henriët Thompson-Fourie, soprano. Old Town Organ Vespers, St. Michael in Old Town Church, Chicago, IL
Sonoris Vocibus
Unaccompanied SATB choir 5’
Program Notes
Based on a Medieval Christmas carol, Sonoris Vocibus, lat. “sound voices,” is a contemplative and jubilant setting for the season of Advent and Christmas. The music builds from a soft and ethereal beginning to uplifting chant-like canons, culminating in exciting rhythmic ostinatos.
Performances
- December 2009 - St. Michael’s Schola Cantorum; Zvonimir Nagy, director. Festival of Lessons and Carols, St. Michael in Old Town Church, Chicago, IL
Cantus Jubilus
Unaccompanied SATB choir and soloists 8’
Recepient of the Swan Prize in Choral Composition
Program Notes
Cantus Jubilus (cantus, Lat., ‘song’, ‘melody’; jubilus, Lat., ‘shout of joy’), a work for unaccompanied mixed choir and soloists, takes its title from a name often associated with a joyful setting of a song without text – a type of chant more typically described as the long melisma on the final syllable of the refrain ‘alleluia’. While the melodic melismas in the work’s two main sections are composed on this principle, they are much freer in their design. Their inner forms almost resemble the unfolding of a spiral, with each lattice, or phrase, based on various patterns of repetition and transformation: in the first section producing an effect of slowly evolving melodic appearances, and a ritualistic impression of driving dances in the second.
Performances
- The University of Minnesota Singers; Kathy Saltzman Romey, director. St. Olaf Church, Minneapolis, MN (April 2010)
Pax Æterna
Unaccompanied SATB or SSAA choir 5’
Performances
- March 2008 - Belle Voix Choir; Karyl Carlson, director. College Music Society SuperRegional Conference, Illinois State University, Normal, IL
Abide in Love
Choir, instrumental ensemble and organ 10’
Program Note
Text: Appalachian Folk Hymn, The Sacred Harp (1844)
Quasi Rosa
Soprano and organ 7’
Performances
- Kat Acosta, soprano; Jay Parrota, organ. New Voices Festival, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC (January 2012)
- Julia Davids, soprano; Zvonimir Nagy, organ. Trinity Concert Series, Trinity United Methodist Church, Wilmette, IL