Morten Lauridsen

Morten Lauridsen is most noted for his vocal cycles and sacred motets which are performed extensively throughout the world. He is Professor of Composition at the USC Thornton School of Music in the United States. The Madrigali: Six ‘Fire Songs’ on Italian Renaissance poems were premiered in Los Angeles in 1988. Each of the six poems in the cycle contains romantic references to fire and the music is unified by manipulations of a sonority called the ‘Fire-Chord’ which opens the piece and is found extensively throughout. Whilst the pieces are contained in a cycle each piece could be performedindividually. Translations of the poems are provided. The Choral Programme Series is now a well-esatablished programming tool for many choirs as it offers a wealth of fresh material from many eras and in many styles. Also offering great value for money as each volume in the series provides up to forty minutes of music

Ubi Caritas Et Amor  by Morten Lauridson was composed in 1999 for unaccompanied mixed voices and was commissioned by Loyola Marymount University to celebrate the life of choral director and scholar Father Richard Trame. A setting of an antiphon for Maundy Thursday Morten Lauridsen subtly adapts the plainchant melody adorning it with contrapuntal elaborations.  This piece is from Faber's Choral Signature Series which introduces a wealth of new or recently written choral music to choirs in search of fresh repertoire. the series draws in a rich diversity of living composersand includes both lighter and more challenging contemporary works offering a thrilling array of varied styles.

Composed in 1997 Morten Lauridsen's Ave Maria is a texturally rich eight-part setting of the most loved of Marian antiphons. This treatment recalls the sumptious polychoral music of Gabrieli as well as the rich textures of Brahms' music for unaccompanied SATB choir. Faber Choral Signature Series introduces a wealth of new or recently written choral music to choirs in search of fresh repertoire. The series draws in a rich diversity of living composers and includes both lighter and more challenging contemporary works offering a thrilling array of varied styles.

For centuries composers have been inspired by the beautiful O Magnum Mysterium text depicting the birth of the new-born King among the lowly animals and shepherds. This setting for unaccompanied SATB divisi by Morten Lauridsen one of America’s most loved and most performed living choral composers is rich in colour deeply spiritual and intensely moving. It is rated as 'reasonably straightforward' to sing so suitable for the majority of choirs. A Piano part is included in the score for rehearsal purposes only. Faber Choral Signature Series introduces a wealth of new or recently written choral music to choirs insearch of fresh repertoire. The series draws in a rich diversity of living composers and includes both lighter and more challenging contemporary works offering a thrilling array of varied styles.

Morten Lauridsen's Nocturnes addresses aspects of the common theme of 'Night' in arrangements for accompanied SATB chorus.  His setting of Rilke's impassioned and atmosphereic Sa nuit d'ete is rich with dense colourful harmonies while Soneto de la noche is quiet serene and fold-like reflecting the eloquence with which the poet Pablo Neruda speaks of everlasting eternal love. Sure on the shining night is a lyrical beautiful setting of James Agee's well-loved poem. Rilke is the source of the epilogue  Voici le soir bringingthe Nocturnes to a quiet end as darkness arrives. The Choral Programme Series is a well-esatablished programming tool for many choirs as it offers a wealth of fresh material from many eras and in many styles. Also offering great value for money as each volume in the series provides up to forty minutes of music

Morten Lauridsen’s setting of Lux Aeterna a five movement non-liturgical requiem for choir and chamber orchestra/organ is a rich and intensely moving work. Choral textures are fully explored from the sonorous slow unfolding of the Introitus and the intricate counterpoint and paired voices of In Te Domine Speravi to the cappella motet O Nata Lux and spirited canticle Veni Sancte Spiritus. The last movement a sublime Agnus Dei preceding the final Lux Aeterna closes with a joyous Alleluia to provide an uplifting conclusion to this most powerful work.Available here is the vocal scorefor SATB divisi chorus with Organ Accompaniment.

Morten Lauridsen's I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes was written for Stephen Layton and Polyphony and has been recorded on Lauridsen: Nocturnes (Hyperion CDA 67580). Purchase the sheet music here arranged for mixed vocal chorus.In speaking of Lauridsen in his book Choral Music in the Twentieth Century the author Nick Strimple says of him 'he is the only American composer in history who can be called mystic [whose] probing serene work contains all the elusive and indefinable ingredient which leaves the impression that all questions have been answered [... ] From 1993 Lauridsen's music rapidly increased in international popularity and by the centuy's end he hadeclipsed Tandall Thompson as the most frequently performed American choral composer'.This piece is from Faber's Choral Signature Series which introduces a wealth of new or recently written choral music to choirs in search of fresh repertoire. the series draws in a rich diversity of living composers and includes both lighter and more challenging contemporary works offering a thrilling array of varied styles.

Madrigals by the Renaissance composer Monteverdi provided the inspiration for my own Madrigali. Symbolic images of flames burning and fire recur often in Italian love poems from this era and my cycle on texts employingthis fire motive blends stylistic musical features of the period (word painting modality bold harmonic shifts intricate counterpoint augenmusik etc.) within a contemporary compositional idiom. The music emanates from asingle primal sonority (the “Fire-Chord”) which opens the piece and is found extensively throughout all six movements in myriad forms and manipulations providing motivic unity to complement the poetic. This cycle ofmadrigals has been designated an American Choral Masterpiece by the National Endowment for the Arts.--Morten Lauridsen

Four poems sharing a common motif of 'Night' provide the texts for my choral cycle Nocturnes, the American Choral Directors Association's commissioned work for its 2005 national convention. For Rilke's atmospheric ?Sa nuit d'ete,? several melodic themes are supported by dense, colorful harmonies in both the choral and piano parts, leading to a climactic section where all are combined and stated simultaneously. Neruda's ?Soneto de la Noche,? from his Cien Sonetos de Amor, speaks of an eternal love that transcends death while reaffirming life. My a cappella setting of this gorgeous poem is predominantly quiet, serene and folk-like, utilizing direct harmonies accompanying long, lyrical vocal lines. Agee's wondrous ?Sure on this Shining Night? is set much like a song from the American musical theater, a genre for which I have held a life-long esteem. Rilke's poignant ?Voici le soir? recalls the opening bell sounds and jazz-tinged chords of the first movement and serves as an epilogue, quietly concluding this cycle of night songs as darkness descends.

My esteem for the great Broadway songwriters has only deepened over the years. Their enduring rich legacy of quintessentially American music has certainly influenced my music during my entire career especially in the creation ofwhat I hope to have been elegant and gracious lines for those singing my works. Where Have the Actors Gone my contribution to the genre of theater/cabaret songs tells of the end of a love relationship through anallegorical tale of actors bringing their play to a close and parting ways. It was first introduced by jazz vocalist Sunny Wilkinson at the Improv Theater in Los Angeles and later recorded by Sunny with keyboard artist Shelly Bergon Lauridsen - Northwest Journey (RCM 12001).--Morten Lauridsen

Four poems sharing a common motif of 'Night' provide the texts for my choral cycle Nocturnes the American Choral Directors Association's commissioned work for its 2005 national convention. For Rilke's atmospheric “Sa nuit d'ete ” several melodic themes are supported by dense colorful harmonies in both the choral and piano parts leading to a climactic section where all are combined and stated simultaneously. Neruda's “Soneto de la Noche ” from his Cien Sonetos de Amor speaks of an eternal love that transcends death while reaffirming life. My a cappella setting of this gorgeous poem is predominantly quiet serene and folk-like utilizing direct harmonies accompanying long lyrical vocal lines. Agee's wondrous “Sure on this Shining Night” is set much like a song from the American musical theater a genre for which I have held a life-long esteem. Rilke's poignant “Voici le soir” recalls the opening bell sounds and jazz-tinged chords of the first movement and serves as an epilogue quietly concluding this cycle of night songs as darkness descends.

Madrigals by the Renaissance composer Monteverdi provided the inspiration for my own Madrigali. Symbolic images of flames burning and fire recur often in Italian love poems from this era and my cycle on texts employingthis fire motive blends stylistic musical features of the period (word painting modality bold harmonic shifts intricate counterpoint augenmusik etc.) within a contemporary compositional idiom. The music emanates from asingle primal sonority (the “Fire-Chord”) which opens the piece and is found extensively throughout all six movements in myriad forms and manipulations providing motivic unity to complement the poetic. This cycle ofmadrigals has been designated an American Choral Masterpiece by the National Endowment for the Arts.--Morten Lauridsen