What Are You Writing Now?

You would think a composer is one who composes music all the time, right? 

My experience at university, the place where composers go to teach because they want to write music but still have to make a living, taught me that this is not always the case. In fact, it seemed to me that most of my composition professors would have enjoyed having more time to compose. And less time having to check music theory homework for parallel fifths and octaves. 

Unfortunately for those who would like to, it isn't easy or simple to make a living from one's composing these days. But if you're one of those folks doing so, please share your success story for others in the comments below! (You can also voice your anger if I offended you with the above paragraph, but hey, that was once my plan, too). 

Over the past few years I have been preoccupied with matters other than composing. A few arrangements are all the these years have produced, which you could call Gebrauchsmusik and I wouldn't be offended. And the preoccupation is OK with me, for I am preparing for another line of work. 

Still, the composing continues, albeit at a much slower pace than it might otherwise. And so, my update is that I am currently working on a several new choral anthems, about which I hope to share more with you, real soon. 

How to Compose a Choral Anthem for Church

Want to learn how to compose a choral anthem suitable for church? In “traditional” Protestant liturgy (to use a significant generalization) this anthem would probably serve for special music or music during the offertory and may or may not include congregational singing...

Morten Lauridsen’s O Magnum Mysterium

We were exhausted.

But did we get a break? Or a nap? Of course not. We had come to sing.

This particular concert came during our second week of jet-lag as my college choir and I toured eastern Europe. We sang in a Roman Catholic cathedral in Moscow. I do not now remember our entire program, but I will never forget the magic we felt that night singing Morten Lauridsen’s O Magnum Mysterium. 

Listen to the recording (not my college choir) and follow the score below:

Though his choral work sounds somewhat medieval (Latin text, a cappella) Lauridsen is actually a contemporary composer living and teaching at the University of Southern California (at time of writing). You can read more about Lauridsen and his music on his website by clicking here or visiting the Links page of this blog.

O Magnum Mysterium reflects on the incarnation of Christ the Lord, celebrated at Christmas. The text (in English) reads: “O great mystery and wonderful sacrament, that animals should see the new-born Lord lying in a manager. Blessed is the Virgin whose womb was worthy to bear Christ the Lord. Allelujah!”[1]

Lauridsen’s setting of the text takes on a four part structure with sections A, A-prime (1:46) B (3:13), and A-double prime (4:05-end).

Besides the text, the piece features a few distinctive elements including close harmonies, suspensions and their resolutions, and polyphony. (To learn about polyphony, homophony, et al, click here). 

Close harmonies, specifically seconds, appear all over the place, even in first measure of the tenors (T). Particular chord voicings also create Lauridsen’s unique sound in this piece.

Listen again to “Beata Virgo” (beginning around 3:13) for a stellar example of tension, created by dissonance, resolving to consonance. In “Virgo” Lauridsen moves from the chord G(add 2), the sub-dominant, to tonicize F-sharp minor (the mediant) via a G-sharp in the altos (3:23). Beautiful!

Lauridsen’s work shows us that in setting text to music, we do not have to use text exactly as written. What do I mean? Lauridsen’s piece might have been brief had he set the original text with its original structure. But instead, Lauridsen edits the text and repeats phrases (e.g. “O magnum mysterium”) and even single words (e.g. sacramentum).

Ever since that concert in Moscow, Lauridsen’s O Magnum Mysterium has continued to be one of my favorite choral works. It is a composition of lyrical melody, gorgeous harmonies and... great mystery.

What are your favorite choral works? Share something about them and/or your thought’s on Lauridsen’s O Magnum Mysterium with a comment below.

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[1]  Click here to go to the article “O Magnum Mysterium," Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Magnum_Mysterium.