Morten Lauridsen

O Come Let Us Sing Unto The Lord was written for Stephen Layton and Polyphony by Morten Lauridsen. Purchase the sheet music for unaccompanied SATB chorus. This setting has been recorded on Lauridsen: Nocturnes (Hyperion CDA 67580).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'.

Lauridsen's O Nata Lux is a serene a cappella motet celebrating the Redeemer and is part of the larger Lux Aeterna for Chorus Orchestra and Organ. The changes in meter accommodate the natural rhythm of the chant. 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.

Morten Lauridsen's lyrical settings of Rainer Maria Rilke's Les roses have become part of mainstream choral repertory. Deftly crafted and elegant in their imagery  Les Chansons de Roses enhance the characteristic of the poems and capture their delicate beauty and sensuousness. This new Faber issue places the sheet music to all of the songs in one edition for the first time arranged for accompanied SATB choir. The Choral Programme Series is now a well-established programming tool for many choirs as it offers a wealth of fresh material from many eras and in manystyles. Also offering great value for money as each volume in the series provides up to forty minutes of music

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.

Prayer is a beautiful setting of a poem by Dana Gioia written in memory of his infant son. Designed as a companion piece to Sure on this shining night this choral work is timeless and poignant in tone calling to mind the great songs of the American music theatre tradition. It is scored for mixed voices with piano accompaniment and is suitable both for aspiring amateur choirs and established groups.

Each of the five connected movements in this choral cycle contains references to 'Light ' assembled from various sacred Latin texts. I composed Lux Aeterna in response to my mother's final illness and found great personalcomfort and solace in setting to music these timeless and wondrous words about Light a universal symbol of illumination at all levels - spiritual artistic and intellectual.The work opens and closes with the beginning andending of the Requiem Mass with the central three movements drawn respectively from the Te Deum O Nata Lux and Veni Sancte Spiritus. The opening Introitus introduces several themes that recur later in thework and includes an extended canon on “et lux perpetua.” In Te Domine Speravi contains among other musical elements the cantus firmus “Herzliebster Jesu” (from the Nuremburg Songbook 1677) and a lengthy inverted canon on “fiat misericordia.” O Nata Lux and Veni Sancte Spiritus are paired songs the former an a cappella motet at the center of the work and the latter a spirited jubilant canticle. A quiet setting of the Agnus Dei precedes the final Lux Aeterna which reprises the opening section of the Introitus and concludes with a joyful celebratory Alleluia.--MortenLauridsen

SATB Jazz Choir a cappella-This work by Morten Lauridsen was premiered and recorded by jazz vocalist Sunny Wilkinson and is now available in a composer-authorized arrangement for a cappella jazz choir.